Across the world, rights and freedoms are being rolled back.
Many governments are shifting to the right and adopting policies that threaten gender equality, restrict bodily autonomy, and erode hard-won gains. These global headwinds make it even more critical that the UK stands firm in its commitment to women and girls.
Through the Protect Progress Campaign, we aim to influence UK Government action to proactively protect
progress on global gender equality, in order to:
- Protect funding for gender equality and women’s rights.
- Prevent backsliding on hard-won rights and language
- Push for systemic change to achieve true gender justice.
50 million more girls in school. The risk of dying in childbirth reduced by 40%. More women
leading nations than ever before.
These are not abstract numbers — they are real wins, fought for by women and girls, that
changed millions of lives. And the UK has been a vital support in making them possible:
investing in education, supporting frontline organisations, and championing women’s rights
globally.
But progress is not guaranteed. Right now, it’s stalling. UK cuts to gender equality funding
are closing programmes, weakening protections, and putting hard-won gains at risk. At the
same time, there are growing efforts worldwide to roll back women’s rights and restrict
freedoms.
We all want a future that is fairer, safer, and full of opportunity — not one where decades of
progress unravel. This is a moment of choice.
The UK can step up. It can choose to be an ally again. It can choose to protect progress —
for women, girls, and all of society.
Support the open Letter to the Foreign Secretary action to ask the government not to forget the millions of women and girls around the world who are at risk of having their rights stripped away. Please protect the progress we’ve made towards gender equality.
