Ms. Angel Konthoujam's talk explores how true development remains incomplete without gender equity at its core. Drawing from real experiences in grassroots development, it highlights how empowering women alone is not enough unless social structures, decision-making spaces, and power dynamics change. The talk invites us to rethink development as a shared ecosystem where equity, not charity, creates resilience and lasting impact. Angel Konthoujam is a Gender Equality Advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmBH, with nearly a decade of experience in advancing gender- responsive environmental and development initiatives. Her work spans agricultural resilience, rural development, and immunization programmes. At GIZ, she currently supports two projects: strengthening gender-responsive forest ecosystem management in North India, and a transnational coastal restoration initiative across the Sundarbans delta in India and Bangladesh. Angel holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge and is a recipient of the Cambridge Chevening Scholarship and the Nehru Trust for Cambridge University Award. Previously, she served as Gender Technical Advisor for India and Bangladesh at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and as a Gender and Equity Consultant with Gavi in Geneva and UNICEF in New York. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx