Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve the lives of women and girls around the world and (b) eradicate gender inequality.

Tackling gender equality is a top priority for my Department. Our Strategic Vision for Girls and Women puts voice, choice and control for girls and women at the centre of our international development efforts.

We fought hard in international negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for a strong stand-alone goal on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, as well as gender-sensitive targets throughout the SDG framework. An SDG framework incorporating strong gender goals and targets was adopted by the UN General Assembly last month and will be critical to achieving transformational change to the lives of girls and women across the globe. We will now work to support international action on implementing and monitoring the SDGs.