From Principles to Practice: Strengthening Accountability for Gender Equality in Int'l Development

The absence of future commitments makes it difficult for civil society actors to hold governments to account according to well-defined metrics. At the same time, governments and women’s rights advocates worldwide are increasingly discussing and adopting “feminist foreign policies” and “gender-responsive budgeting.” There is a need to clearly define with robust and transparent metrics what these terms mean and how to hold countries who claim to be “feminist” and “gender-responsive” accountable for ambitious progress, while also encouraging other countries to increasingly prioritize gender equality.

This policy note seeks to contribute to maximizing the impact of Beijing +25, and strengthening accountability for global gender equality more broadly, by grappling with three core questions: For what should governments be held accountable? To whom should they be accountable? And how can feminist researchers and advocates hold governments accountable?