Gender equality is an important goal in its own right as an issue of economic and social justice and an issue that cuts across all aspects of development planning and implementation.     The promotion of gender equality is instrumental in achieving all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and in reducing and eventually eradicating poverty.  Poverty is understood not simply as a lack of income and financial resources, but also as encompassing the notion of inequalities in access to and control over the material and non-material benefits of any particular society.  These resources and benefits include human and basic rights, political voice, employment, information, social services, infrastructure and natural resources.
    Gender is an important determinant of inequality in access to and control over societal resources and benefits. Women are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, as they constitute approximately 70% of the world’s poorest people, and they are often, due to their social roles, responsible for looking after vulnerable members of society, such as children, the sick and elderly.  Moreover, women constitute around 50% of the adult labour force and any denial of their equal access to the labour market is a great obstacle in the fight against poverty.  Therefore, redressing gender inequalities must be an integral part of the EC development policy, its strategies and effective implementation.  The EU commitment to promoting gender equality are emphasised in the new development policy statement, which commits the EU to include a strong gender component in all its policies and practices in its relations with developing countries.    This is also underlined in the new EU Strategy for Africa.