To Ensure Effective Foreign Policy, Reengage on Women’s Economic Empowerment

Commentary by Hadeil Ali

Published December 18, 2024

This commentary is part of a report from the CSIS Global Development Department series entitled Global Development Recommendations for the Next Administration.

During President Trump's first term in office, one of the administration's core development policy priorities centered on women's global economic empowerment. The administration established the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative in February 2019 as part of its National Security Strategy. Under the leadership of Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, W-GDP was considered the first-ever whole-of-government approach to women's economic empowerment and aimed to reach 50 million women across the developing world by 2025.

Through this effort-as outlined in its 2019-2020 annual report-the administration was able to reach 12 million women in 2019, while 2 million women participated in workforce training and development programs supported by the U.S. government and more than 9,000 women-led businesses received more than $1.6 billion in government-backed loans. W-GDP also adopted a strong storytelling tactic to showcase the tangible impact the initiative had on girls and women across the globe. President Joe Biden ensured his administration kept these issues a priority under the new umbrella of the Gender Policy Council, which was established through an executive order focusing on gender equity and equality in both domestic and foreign policy. While President Trump is unlikely to continue the council's work, his new administration has the opportunity to ensure women's empowerment remains a priority.

Despite the current divisive environment around diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as gender, there is a real need to ensure these issues are central to U.S. development and national security agendas. Women around the globe are still lagging in workforce participation and leadership representation in government. The exclusion of women is costly for the economy, stability, and peacebuilding efforts. The first Trump administration's approach provided tangible lessons that can help ensure a more effective implementation of these initiatives in his second term and advance U.S. leadership in this critical work.

The exclusion of women is costly for the economy, stability, and peacebuilding efforts. The first Trump administration's approach provided tangible lessons that can help ensure a more effective implementation of these initiatives in his second term and advance U.S. leadership in this critical work.

Action Steps

The second Trump administration should consider the following recommendations to ensure greater effectiveness and impact:

• The incoming Trump administration should reinstate W-GDP to signal that women's global development will remain a priority and assign the White House the leading coordinating role, with the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) functioning as the international implementers. The whole-of-government approach requires tactful and clear coordination to ensure efforts are streamlined and not duplicated. At the end of the first Trump administration, W-GDP designated the State Department as the leading coordinating agency; however, given where the policy center of gravity lies, the White House is the optimal entity to lead these efforts and publish a detailed annual progress report.
• W-GDP should expand impact measurement beyond dollar amounts spent to encompass a more holistic and sustainable approach to accountability. One of the criticisms of W-GDP was the lack of robustness of its implementation framework. A report published by the Government Accountability Office in March 2021 outlined the inability to measure the impact of USAID's W-GDP efforts as a major shortcoming of the initiative. Sharing the number of women reached through U.S. government programs and partnerships is a good first step, but more granular metrics are needed to measure the lasting impact of these investments and track the ongoing success of the initiatives over time. Longitudinal reporting mechanisms can ensure that the U.S. government is strategic and funding sustainable efforts.
• The whole-of-government approach must incorporate the role of men and boys in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. In the 2019-2020 W-GDP annual report, there was only one reference to engaging men and boys to successfully catalyze women's economic empowerment. While this was not a priority for the last Trump administration, women's economic advancement cannot occur without meaningful and intentional engagement of men and boys. This recommendation has gained urgency in light of the crisis facing boys and men around issues of loneliness, addiction, and potential radicalization. In alignment with W-GDP pillars, specific steps include raising awareness about the importance of women's economic empowerment in schools, encouraging men to enter professions like nursing and teaching, and providing mental health support for boys and men.
  

Hadeil Ali is chief of staff of the Global Development Department and director of the Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

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