The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with input from the U.S. Department of State (State), submits this report pursuant to Section 7019(e) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 (Division G of Public Law [P.L.] 116-94), which incorporates the provisions of House Report 116-78:

The Committee directs the USAID Administrator, not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, to submit to the Committees on Appropriations a detailed implementation plan of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, including focus countries and planned metrics.

This report outlines USAID’s innovative and effective approaches to women’s economic empowerment over the course of the first year of contributing to the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative via the W-GDP Fund, as well as State’s signature W-GDP programs. The report addresses potential focus countries and metrics for WGDP. Women’s economic empowerment has long been a focus of USAID and State’s work around the world. The White House’s launch of the W-GDP Initiative in February 2019 sharpened these efforts by providing the first-ever comprehensive, whole-of-Government approach to women’s economic empowerment focused on three pillars: Pillar 1: women prospering in the workforce; Pillar 2: women succeeding as entrepreneurs; and, Pillar 3: women enabled in the economy.

At USAID, W-GDP prioritizes new resources and analytic metrics to focus on the barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the economy. During W-GDP’s first year, USAID created the $100 million W-GDP Fund, which financed innovative programs to advance women’s economic empowerment in 44 countries through collaboration with nearly 250 partners across the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and local governments.

State prioritizes W-GDP through programs outlined in this report, as well as through broader diplomatic engagement in bilateral and multilateral fora and public diplomacy. Going forward, State will serve as the lead coordinating Department for W-GDP, in partnership with USAID on the W-GDP Fund and under the policy leadership of the White House. State will support this work through the establishment of a new W-GDP Unit within the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.