Policy and research

28th September marks one year since a series of powerful earthquakes struck the Central Sulawesi province of Indonesia, triggering a tsunami resulting in significant damage and loss of life. Our new research shows how women's leadership made an incredible difference in the aftermath. 

How do you achieve a successful career as a woman? That’s the billion-dollar question. It’s hard enough for women in the UK struggling to break the glass ceiling and manage a work life balance. But in developing countries it’s even harder, and the consequences of those struggles are far more serious. At a recent ActionAid event, women’s rights policy expert, Deepta Chopra, highlighted some of the main challenges facing women in the workplace in Bangladesh.

ActionAid’s new policy report 'Diversify and Conquer' discusses what Bangladesh’s government needs to do to create decent jobs for the country’s workers so they have better employment alternatives to jobs in garment factories, where they are poorly paid and badly treated. Opening this path to a brighter future requires transforming the economy by investing in manufacturing sectors that bring in more money for the country, like engineering and electronics.

Many governments talk about their plans to combat violence against women, but these often miss the vital ingredient – the women who work with these issues every day. Not so in Cambodia, where fearless women are fighting back against a cycle of violence and poverty – and are making the government’s plans better too.

You may have heard about the deal the EU is negotiating with the US, known as TTIP (the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). It's likely that this deal will allow powerful companies to sue EU governments for protecting workers rights. 

At ActionAid, we're all about bringing women together in communities to discuss their needs and demand their rights. So we’d like to celebrate an inspiring woman taking a stand for women’s economic security in her community and share the ideas of some of the leading thinkers and decision makers on gender equality.