Devex: Can women and girls be at the center of U.S. humanitarian assistance?
Lyric Thompson, senior policy manager at the International Center for Research on Women

“…[S]upport [from U.S. foreign assistance for women and girls] is critical, both because it is the just and right thing to do, and also because achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls have been shown to help advance other development priorities such as global health, economic growth, and democratic governance. … Intentionally and explicitly incorporating a focus on women and girls in American assistance abroad will help [USAID Administrator Gayle] Smith and USAID achieve their goals. … [C]ementing the agency’s department on women and girls is a win-win. It empowers at least half the population, whose needs for far too long have been overlooked, and it boosts agency priorities, from spurring economic growth, to educating the next generation, to finally tackling poverty at its roots” (3/9).