- What We Do
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Democracy, Human Rights and Governance
- Economic Growth and Trade
- Ending Extreme Poverty
- Environment and Global Climate Change
- Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
- Global Health
- Water and Sanitation
- Working in Crises and Conflict
- U.S. Global Development Lab
Harnessing the power of 21st century storytelling and multi-sector partnerships to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment globally.
Women and Girls Lead Global (WGLG) combines the power of documentary film, national television broadcasts, local and new media, and engagement activities to impact audiences and support existing efforts by NGOs, civil society organizations and other actors to empower women and girls.
Goals: The three-year, 30-film media project is currently in eight countries and will promote gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide, creating a ten-episode documentary film series each year about women and girls rising above dire circumstances to seek better lives for themselves, their families and communities.
Countries: The WGLG partnership is currently active in Bangladesh, Colombia, El Salvador, India, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi and Peru.
Approach: WGLG brings together the best in both the public and private sector to bring an end to the many challenges that exist for women and girls across the globe. By combining the power of media with locally led social change campaigns, the partnership is engaging schools and communities to raise awareness and action.
Partners: WGLG is a public-private alliance created between USAID, Independent Television Service (ITVS) and Ford Foundation, in cooperation with lead NGO partner CARE.
THE PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION
Through locally led campaigns, WGLG is raising awareness and mobilizing action around issues such as child marriage, teen pregnancy and gender-based violence. Some recent examples of the partnership’s work include the following:
- In rural Bangladesh, the ‘Best School for Girls’ campaign promotes girl-friendly educational environments in communities with high child marriage rates. The campaign targets students, parents, educators and government officials. More than 100 schools are competing for “Best Schools” certification.
- WGLG Peru’s ‘Now is the Time!’ campaign focuses on adolescent access to reproductive health information, working to reduce teen pregnancy and increase school enrollment. The campaign combines policy advocacy, grassroots community engagement, and partnerships with local schools and health centers, focusing on marginalized populations in the Amazon and Andes regions.
- In Kenya, WGLG’s ‘Women in Red’ campaign boosts efforts to realize the promise of the 2010 constitution, which mandated a larger role for women in civil society. The campaign provides the inspiration, conversations and calls-to-action to empower the next generation of Kenyan leaders.
- Through the ‘Hero Project’ campaign, WGLG India supports the movement growing against gender-based violence. The campaign challenges damaging conceptions of masculinity, helping organizations use media to redefine gender roles and champion safer public spaces for girls and women.
- The “I Have a Story” campaign encourages Jordanian communities to broaden their understanding of gender-based violence, to strengthen support systems for survivors, and to reduce the acceptance of GBV in homes and in public. The campaign uses “Film Clubs” to build trust among audience members, as well as media partnerships to promote attitude change and education.
Last updated: May 14, 2014