Gender equality is at the heart of a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for everyone, everywhere. Over many decades, progress on women’s and girls’ rights has laid the foundation to gender equality and inclusion in many parts of the world. For example, today, more than 100 countries track budget allocations for gender equality.
Gender equality benefits all societies, not only women and girls. At a global level, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will only be achievable if we ramp up support for gender equality.
And yet, some governments are reversing efforts on gender, diversity and inclusion. Many people, including women and girls, have been left behind during Covid-19, in the climate and economic crisis and in conflicts[1]. In an increasingly polarised world, ‘anti-gender’ movements try to affect institutional, legal and policy frameworks.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” 2025 is a pivotal moment in the global pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
To advance rights for ALL women and girls is now more important than ever - for gender equality, for sustainable development and for a better tomorrow. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) contribute in their countries. They can make a difference. SAIs can hold governments accountable for their efforts in advancing gender equality.
How SAIs address gender equality – a global picture
The INTOSAI Development Initiative’s (IDI) triennial Global Surveys and Global SAI Stocktaking Report 2023, show that SAIs have become more gender-sensitive in some areas.
At the SAI Governance level, more than 60 per cent of SAIs say they have institutionalised gender responsibilities to some extent.
Of particular interest, in 2023:
- 37 per cent of SAIs had gender focal points,
- 30 per cent of SAIs report having a gender policy,
- 40 per cent of SAIs state that their Strategic Plan promotes gender equality at the institutional level, and
- 37 per cent of SAIs say they address gender and inclusion in their HR strategy.
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At the SAI audit level, 31 per cent of SAIs report having conducted at least one gender audit and 21 per cent say that they had mainstreamed gender into their audits. By applying a gender lens in their audits, SAIs can reflect and assess the needs and voices of women, girls and marginalised groups and make a difference in people's lives. They can lead by example as an institution and live up to the spirit of INTOSAI Principle 12 on the value and benefits of SAIs. Global Surveys and Stocktaking results show more SAI engagement, but there is still a way to go.
How IDI supports SAIs on gender equality and inclusion
IDI is looking at ways to continue building momentum on gender equality and inclusion through its work with SAIs and internally. IDI’s support is based on the very needs of SAIs on gender equality and inclusion. Here are some examples of how IDI engages with SAIs:
SAI Governance:
- Supporting gender responsiveness and inclusion in SAI human resource management, through TOGETHER. Since 2022, this IDI initiative has supported 36 SAIs in English, French and Arabic across several INTOSAI regions to mainstream gender and inclusion in different dimensions of their human resource (HR) management system.
- Measuring SAI Performance through the Performance Measurement Framework (SAI PMF): IDI is leading efforts to better reflect gender and inclusion in the current revision of the framework.
- Supporting SAI leaders: MASTERY, an IDI initiative for heads of SAIs, and the SAI Governance Academy, include elements and modules on inclusive leadership.
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SAI audits:
- Supporting more equal futures through Equal Futures Audit (EFA): IDI launched the EFA Changemakers initiative in 2023. Together with SAIs, IDI identified six key areas of marginalisation in the initiative: gender, poverty, ethnicity, migration, age and disability. IDI offered EFA in English and Spanish to 24 participating SAIs.
The idea is to support a pool of senior auditors to become change agents and champions for integrating equality and inclusion into SAI audits and audit strategies. By the end of 2024,14 SAIs had developed and started implementing EFA change strategies, including Brazil, Egypt, Kosovo, Mauritania and the Philippines. At the start of 2025, the SAIs of Chile, Costa Rica, Mauritania, Thailand and Uruguay have issued their EFA reports as per their mandates. Other participating SAIs are expected to complete their strategies and audit in 2025.
- Supporting SAIs in leaving no one behind: To be gender responsive and inclusive, we need to work together and leave no one behind. IDI has revised the IDI SDG Audit Model (ISAM) and developed frameworks for auditing Policy Coherence and Leave No One Behind (LNOB) in 2024.
- Providing Professional Education for SAI Auditors (PESA): For IDI, PESA also stands for inclusive education materials, diverse virtual mentors, reflecting categories of gender, ability, ethnicity and culture, and examples and case studies that are mindful of gender and inclusion.
SAIs in challenging situations:
- Together with partners, IDI supported a number of challenged SAIs in finding ways to better reflect Gender, Diversity and Inclusion in their governance and audit work. One result of this was a recently published audit report on gender-based violence by SAI Madagascar.
These are some examples showing what SAIs can do to strengthen gender equality and how IDI supports them. This support builds on IDI’s Gender and Inclusion Policy and ongoing journey. It also requires advocacy within the INTOSAI Community and SAI engagement. As we celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, we know that the current scale and speed of progress are insufficient to achieve gender equality by 2030[2]. In parts of the world, we even see an increased pushback against gender equality. Yet, we need to move forward, not backwards. Let’s advance together. Now is the time.
See here IDI’s short video on Equality Matters.
[1] See here a link to UN Women policy briefs also looking at the negative impact of Covid-19 on gender equality and here how climate change and gender inequality are connected. Please refer also to the UN Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing report.
[2] See also the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024.