The release of the Performance of Australian Aid report in May showed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was nearing an important target set by Julie Bishop as one her first orders of business since becoming Foreign Minister in 2013 — ensuring more than 80 percent of investments, regardless of their objectives, will effectively address gender issues in their implementation. 2017 may well have been the year it hit that goal, but the impacts on the ground are far from clear.

The target was established by a June 2014 report outlining ways to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of Australian aid. The DFAT report, which covered 2015-2016, showed that they had effectively addressed gender within in 78 percent of their programs — just two percent shy of the magic 80.

DFAT’s strategy suggests a number of ways to achieve these outcomes — ensuring women participate in decision making throughout implementation, identifying and pursuing opportunities for women to be employed through an investment, and addressing social challenges to implementation including violence and other social norms that create a barrier to the inclusion of women. DFAT has additionally created regional-specific plans to support the empowerment of women, including a strategy for Vietnam announced in February.

Read the full article about Australia's gender target by Lisa Cornish at Devex International Development.