Devex publishes two opinion pieces as part of its “She Builds” campaign.

Devex: Much has been done, but far from enough
Jan Mattsson, executive director of UNOPS

“Sustainable development and gender equality are two sides of the same coin. The international community cannot reach its 2015 Millennium Development Goals, nor the follow-on generation of sustainable development goals, without enshrining women’s rights into its practices and programs. … At UNOPS, we recognize that we need to do more, practically, on the ground. To this end, we adopted a framework for gender mainstreaming, using tools that ensure accountability towards gender-related aspects across the organization via reporting mechanisms. … Achieving gender equality doesn’t happen overnight, but we must strive towards it — and indeed step up the game — if we are to ensure sustainable development results that make a real difference for communities” (3/31).

Devex: Women’s futures under threat
Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, and Petra Bayr, the Social Democrat Party — SPÖ spokesperson for global development and a member of the Austrian parliament

“…[I]n order for women to be these builders of futures, they must be healthy. And women are exposed to a major potential threat to health that men are not — pregnancy. … Indeed, almost 800 women in the developing world die every day during pregnancy and childbirth — many as a result of unsafe abortion. … This is why the international community designated maternal health as a standalone Millennium Development Goal — and why the European Union contributed $120 million to maternal health in 2012. However, this E.U. funding may be threatened by an initiative called ‘One of Us.’ This initiative aims to halt all E.U. funds for any activities that involve the destruction of the human embryo. … As one of the leading international actors supporting family planning and sexual and reproductive health, the E.U. has a responsibility to stand up for these rights…” (3/27).