Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to help achieve gender equality in the Global South.

Promoting gender equality and advancing women and girls' rights around the world is a priority for the UK Government. Between 2015 and 2020, we supported 8.1 million girls gain access to a decent education. In 2019-20 alone we provided 25.4 million women and girls with modern methods of family planning, saving 8,100 women's lives.

Our leadership on gender equality has become increasingly vital as we work with partners to build back better and more inclusively after COVID-19. We are preparing to take full advantage of the many opportunities that 2021 offers to advance gender equality in the Global South. We are putting gender equality at the heart of our G7 Presidency, co-leading the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, hosting the Global Partnership for Education and recognising the importance of gender to be effective in the fight against climate change.