Launched with an initial contribution of US$65 million (EUR 50 million) from the Government of Spain, the Fund will accept applications (online only) from September 15-30, 2009.

The Fund for Gender Equality will support government and civil society organisations in developing countries to fast-track actions in support of gender equality through a new multilateral initiative to fight discrimination, reduce poverty, and advance the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It builds on agreed conclusions of the 52nd UN Commission on the Status of Women (March 2008), focusing on Financing for Gender Equality.

The 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs 1 and 3 on poverty reduction and gender equality is quickly approaching. The Fund will use a “fast track” approach to increase support for nationally-owned and holistic strategies for accelerating progress on gender equality in line with National Development Strategies (NDSs).

The Fund is unique in its focus on sustainable strengthening of organisations that promote gender equality and women’s rights at the country level — including national machineries for women, women’s parliamentary caucuses, and women’s NGOs and networks — to build their capacity to drive and monitor the agenda for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. It prioritises support for women’s economic and political empowerment, since these are areas that are often under-funded worldwide.

The Fund will prioritise a maximum of 30 innovative, impact-oriented programmes from around the world and grants are highly competitive.

For more information on types of grants and the application process, please visit the UNIFEM website