End gender inequality

Gender inequality is recognised by the global community as a major driver of poverty and marginalisation around the world

The different opportunities and expectations for women and men, girls and boys affect every dimension of life, including health. The international development community has recognised the significance of gender equality by establishing Sustainable Development Goal 5: ‘End gender inequality and empower all women and girls’, which is critical in achieving all other goals. These include Sustainable Development Goal 3: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages’. RACS Global Health is committed to promoting gender equality and recognises gender as a major driver of health access and quality of care. RACS is committed to effective action in gender inclusive health programming to maximise operational and organisational effectiveness and improve our contribution to sustainable health outcomes. We seek to achieve the policy’s objectives through actions focused on our programming and on our corporate practices and culture. The Australian aid program has identified gender equality and women’s empowerment as one of its core investment priorities, noting that gender inequality persists in Australia and in the Indo-Pacific region, which is the focus of Australian aid.

RACS is committed to the design and implementation of inclusive and gender equitable programming. For RACS to remain a current development partner, gender is a core consideration in programming, with goals and strategies to address gender inequality articulated, data collected, and results monitored and managed. RACS is a signatory to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct— the highly regarded standards for development practice that have been developed and adopted by the aid and development sector. A commitment to human rights, and to building gender equality and gender equity are central to the code.

Gender equality is a key concern in health access and by better understanding disparities, it can be more effectively addressed. RACS is currently in the process of developing a gender position paper, which will articulate a clear and consistent message on our commitment to gender equality in global health. The paper will include: • background information and a critical analysis on gender and health for RACS

Global Health in the Asia-Pacific region • exploration of the barriers women face in accessing health based on evidence, including women in the health workforce and opportunities for training and health systems • RACS Global Health’s approach to gender mainstreaming in health, including key strategies across the three organisational priorities: advocacy, capacity building (including local leadership and education), and partnerships. There is significant opportunity for strategic alignment between RACS Global Health’s efforts to strengthen the approach to gender within international and RACS broader initiatives to support women in surgery, described in the Building Respect, Improving Patient Safety Action initiative and supporting programs. This provides opportunities for solidarity and support for change. Please contact the RACS Head of Global Health Philippa Nicholson (philippa. nicholson@surgeons.org ) if you would like more information.

Image: Naomi Asi and Rowena Faaiuaso-Brown are strong female leaders working towards greater access and inclusivity for all. They work for the SENESE Inclusive Education Hearing Program.