Foreign Assistance

The Agency for International Development (AID) has only recently begun to consider the role of women in its third-world development strategies, despite the fact that 20 years have passed since Congress directed that AID assistance programs focus on integrating women into the economies of developing countries. Many AID officials view women-in-development as either a narrow special interest issue or as one more responsibility for an overburdened staff. The State Department has generally promoted women's issues through its Bureaus of International Organizations Affairs and Refugee Programs. It has yet to carry out, however, a 1974 legislative directive encouraging U.S. international organizations to promote women's economic and policymaking participation and to consider progress on women's issues when making U.S. contributions to international groups. Refugee women are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and face discrimination in the delivery of goods and services. Although women and children are the majority of refugee camp residents, women in the four camps GAO visited were largely excluded from decisionmaking and the development of aid programs. The cultural values of relief officials continue to influence camp conditions for women. The State Department supports training for refugee workers to more effectively address the needs of refugee women and girls.

GAO found that: (1) since 1974, AID has issued policies and directed its bureaus and missions to integrate gender concerns throughout their assistance activities and to evaluate the impact of these activities on women, but its progress has been slow; (2) AID has not adequately monitored the implementation of its policies and strategies or routinely evaluated the impact of its programs and activities on women; (3) many agency officials view women-in-development as a narrow special interest issue rather than as a means for accomplishing development objectives; (4) the State Department has generally promoted women's issues by encouraging the appointment of women into senior United Nations (U.N.) positions and supporting various U.N. resolutions on women's economic and human rights; (5) although women and their dependents are the majority of refugee camp residents, they have been largely excluded from participating in decisionmaking activities and the development of foreign aid programs; and (6) the State Department has supported training for refugee relief workers to more effectively address the needs of refugee women and girls.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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