Gender

With the European Parliament elections taking place between on 6-9 June 2024, the European Union stands at a defining moment. The 2019-2024 term witnessed the breakthrough of long-stagnant gender initiatives, but challenges loom large in advancing gender equality in the EU. This article explores the prospects for the policy directions that will shape the gender equality agenda of the next European Parliament and Commission in this context.

The election of Joe Biden as President of the United States created an opening for a gender-sensitive approach to foreign policy. Two years in, historic firsts and enduring obstacles present a mixed picture.

Adopted largely by the West, FFP advocacy needs to address Global South dilemmas, contradictions, and tensions for adoption in non-West geographies.

At the Feminist Development Policy Conference in Berlin, the German government showed progress toward a feminist engagement with international partners.

Determined to stay in power, Brazil’s incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro borrows from Donald Trump’s playbook and is preparing the ground for a stolen election myth. He rose to power by learning how to mobilize voters from Barack Obama – and by flooding the internet with fake news.

The ultraconservative extreme right in Brazil is creating moral panic by pushing fake news about “gender ideology”. The fear of anything but heteronormativity plays a central role in the ascension of authoritarian leaders and democratic backsliding.

Women are more affected than men by plastics. Biological reasons are part of the problem: their bodies react in different ways to toxins, and the hygiene products that women use are often contaminated. But alternatives do exist.

To deal with the dramatic consequences of the global environmental and climate crises, international attention is also growing for civil society environmental movements and their louder feminist demands.

Ms. Silvia Sartori, Senior Project Manager of ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, speaks about why gender matters in the energy debate, how a ‘victimization narrative’ inaccurately represents women, and what can be expected from the Gender and Energy Compact launched in September 2021.

Most regions in the world have been – to some extent – affected by climate change, and Southeast Asian countries are no exception. Within the group of people who are affected,  recognition needs to be accentuated on the disproportionate impact of climate change along gender lines.

The increasing data-driven nature of societies raises concerns about how to prevent data misuse and abuse that may harm individuals and communities, particularly marginalized groups. A feminist critique of the model law on data protection of the Southern African Development Community and the EU’s GDPR, however highlights the dangerous gaps that place women and gender-diverse people at risk.

In this time of triple crises, with intersecting impacts from the pandemic, the climate emergency, and persistent economic inequality, the global community and its leaders face a “Kairos moment” – a turning point at a critical time for action. The choice is whether to continue with failed policies that have brought the world to this perilous juncture or to retool global economies and systems. Imaginative and transformative approaches could address climate change and other environmental, health, and social threats, based on equity and justice, including gender-equitable access to sustainable finance.

Expanding on the United Nations Women’s Rights Convention, Tunisia became the first Arab country to incorporate into its laws the notion of gender-based political violence. Can this concept now be incorporated into international instruments to benefit more women across the globe, starting with UN Women’s 2021 Generation Equality Forum?

COVID-19 uniquely affects women. Here are many of the ways it does.