The importance of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls has been underscored in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5- Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. Gender equality implies a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, outcomes, rights and obligations in all spheres of life (UNPFA, 2017). A critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women full autonomy to manage their own lives. Women’s empowerment is vital to sustainable development and the realization of the human rights for all. Moreover, evidence shows that promoting equality will speed up the progress towards the achievement of the SDGs, (UNICEF, 2011) and must be a central part of any strategy to create more sustainable and inclusive economies and societies (OECD, 2014).