On June 11, 2019, President Trump signed the first-ever United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS Strategy). The WPS Strategy responds to the ground-breaking Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, which established the United States as the first country in the world with a comprehensive law on WPS. The U.S. Government (USG) developed the WPS Strategy as a whole-of-government approach to advance women’s meaningful participation in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism (CVE) and terrorism, and building post-conflict peace and stability. Building on the President’s National Security Strategy (NSS) and its powerful recognition that “societies that empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life are more prosperous and peaceful,” the WPS Strategy emphasizes the critical linkages between women’s empowerment and global peace and security.

USAID developed this Implementation Plan to support the WPS Strategy through concrete, effective, and coordinated action across our development and humanitarian-assistance efforts. USAID’s Implementation Plan describes the actions the Agency will take to expand and strengthen the integration of WPS objectives within our strategies, programs, and partnerships; to build staff and institutional capacity; to evaluate and learn from our efforts; and to hold ourselves accountable for results. In addition to complementary efforts such as the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), which aims to increase women’s economic empowerment around the world, the WPS Strategy will contribute to increased security and prosperity for all.