Banyan Global participated in a two-day workshop to create a USAID Women’s Economic Empowerment & Equality (WE3) Strategic Framework which identified best practices and lessons learned and helped build and strengthen partnerships among key stakeholders. USAID brought together a variety of experts on the issues of women’s economic empowerment and equality – including USAID staff members at headquarters and missions, implementing partners, the US State Department, academics, think tanks, activists, foundations, global south experts and the private sector – to help form a collective vision and map out tangible joint steps to help increase women’s economic empowerment and equality globally. Together stakeholders worked in order to:

• Identify a common definition and set of principles for WE3
• Feature multiple WE3 best practices and lessons learned
• Better understand different stakeholder priorities and initiatives around WE3
• Strengthen existing partnerships and identify new potential partnerships around WE3
• Build both USAID and industry -wide commitment, and initiate agency WE3 action plans

Banyan Global was invited to participate in the workshop as a key USAID implementing partner in women’s economic empowerment. Banyan Global’s Senior Gender Specialist facilitated break-out group discussions on risk mitigation, including GBV and unintended negative consequences, as part of Banyan Global’s role as facilitator of the SEEP Women’s Economic Empowerment Working group.