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Office of Global Women’s Issues

Our Mission

The Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) has a mandate to promote the rights and empowerment of women and girls through U.S. foreign policy. Headed by an Ambassador-at-Large, the office leads the Department’s efforts to empower women and girls in U.S. diplomacy, partnerships, and programs.

Our Priorities

Women’s Economic Security

When women are economically secure, they re-invest in their families and communities, producing a multiplier effect that spurs economic growth and contributes to global peace and stability. The U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security envisions a world in which all women and girls are able to fully, meaningfully, and equally contribute to, and benefit from, economic growth and global prosperity.

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Women, Peace, and Security

Women offer unique contributions to making and keeping peace in countries around the world–and those contributions lead to better outcomes not just for women, but for entire societies. The U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) reaffirms the U.S. commitment to ensure women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in decision-making processes at all levels, conflict prevention and resolution, and political and civil life.

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Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response

Preventing and responding to all forms of gender-based violence is a cornerstone of the U.S. government’s commitment to promoting democracy, advancing human rights, and furthering gender equity and equality. The U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally drives a comprehensive, unified, interagency response to gender-based violence abroad.

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Cross-Cutting Issues

S/GWI’s work on Women’s Economic Security, Women, Peace and Security, and Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response is not single-faceted. There are several cross-cutting issues that S/GWI targets through its work in other areas including Gender and Climate, Girls and Young Women, Multilateral Affairs, and Intersectionality.

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U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future