Why Women's Rights

Ending global poverty begins with women's rights.

It's a Simple Answer

Gender is the most persistent predictor of poverty and powerlessness in our world today.

Women are the powerhouses of developing countries: they produce most of the food, make up a third of the official labour force and care for families and homes. Yet they tend to have fewer rights, fewer resources and fewer opportunities to make life-shaping decisions than men. Gender remains the most persistent predictor of poverty.

When women’s rights are respected, women are healthier, better educated and better paid. Children and communities, organizations and societies thrive, creating lasting benefits for generations to come.

150 M
An estimated 150 million people in 34 developing countries could escape hunger if women had the same access as men to what they need for farming.
2/3
Of the 800 million people over the age of 15 who cannot read nor write, two-thirds are women.
23%
Worldwide, women earn 23% less than men.

Join Us

Join Us

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala is shown speaking at a public event. She is dressed in a black dress and black head scarf and is standing in front of a microphone that is attached to a podium. Behind her are pictures of women.
We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.
Malala Yousafzai I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.
Photo: Andy Hall/Oxfam

What is Oxfam Doing?

We put women's rights at the centre of everything we do. Whether we're delivering emergency aid to survivors of natural disasters or providing women the tools to escape poverty, women's rights must be emphasized if positive change is to be lasting and sustainable.

Oxfam and our partners help women and girls claim their rights, assume leadership roles in their communities and break the cycle of poverty

We challenge governments, companies and organizations to respect and promote the rights of women and girls.

Our humanitarian work is focused on putting power and decision-making in the hands of women and girls in times of crisis.

What Do We Hope To Achieve?

We will support women and girls to claim their rights so that everyone can live in a world where women and men share power and wealth equally, where women contribute to their communities as active citizens and leaders, and where men and boys reject restrictive gender roles and gender-based violence; and where everyone has education, health care and decent livelihoods.

This world is possible, and it starts with women's rights.

Invest in women and girls' rights today.

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