The purpose of this Policy is to guide the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to make gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls a core principle of its humanitarian action. The Policy harnesses progressive thinking on humanitarian preparedness and response, peace building, and development, to be transformative, inclusive and uncompromising towards achieving the goals of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in humanitarian action. Implementation of this Policy will lead to humanitarian action which is more just, coherent, effective and cost efficient, and thus will save more lives.