Research shows that improving women’s status and livelihoods are two of the most critical ways of eradicating poverty and improving the general standard of living. Improving their position correlates with the prosperity of the whole family, community and society.  

We promote the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality, a cross-cutting theme in all our programmes. All our projects are preceded by a gender analysis aiming to include and enable women’s social, political, and economic participation in their respective contexts. 

We work:  

• for the education of girls and women 
• for the employment and entrepreneurship of women 
• for women’s political participation 
• against sexual and gender-based violence 
• against child-marriage 
• against unequal power structures 

Finn Church Aid (FCA) manages Women’s Bank that was founded in 2007 to strengthen women’s right to education and livelihoods in fragile countries. Its livelihood activities offer training in entrepreneurship, marketing and managing finances. Creating cooperatives and savings groups are central to the projects, and the cooperatives support their members’ business activities. 

The livelihood projects also strengthen women’s rights in other ways. Participating in cooperatives and their management builds confidence and experience that support women in becoming involved in broader decision-making structures. The cooperatives also offer interventions and solutions to issues, such as domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. 

The education of girls is one of the most efficient ways of securing sustainable development for entire communities. We raise local awareness about the benefits of sending girls to school and address the practical challenges girls face in schools, such as access to sanitary pads and safe lavatories. Offering quality education to girls is also meant to prevent harmful traditions, such as child marriage. 

Educated women are more likely to send their children to school, and education is the key to self-determination and living an independent life.