Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to prioritise measures to improve the position of women and girls as part of her Department's development programmes.

DFID has put girls and women at the heart of international development. We prioritise work to improve the position of girls and women in everything we do.

On 13 May 2014, the International Development Gender Equality Act 2014, championed by my Hon Friend, the member for Stone (Sir William Cash MP), came into law. This means that before development or humanitarian assistance is provided, the impact on gender equality must be considered.