Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gender Equality Norms in International Governance: Actors, Contexts, Meanings

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Rethinking Gender Equality in Global Governance

Abstract

At least since the 1970s, the idea to overcome gender hierarchies has influenced the work of international organisations (IOs). Scholars who have analysed this ‘engendering’ of IOs describe a variety of resulting organisational practices, informed by significant institutionalisation of gender equality norms as well as by their co-optation. The paper gives an overview of some of the most important global gender equality norms articulated within the United Nations (UN). It does so with a view to historical context factors, involved actors and their relative power, and competing claims and pressures. This perspective shows how diverse meanings of gender equality norms have become prominent within the UN, including relatively clear goals of social change, compromises, shifting priorities and incompatibilities leading to stalemates.

For helpful comments that significantly improved this chapter, I would like to thank Karen Garner as well as Lars Engberg-Pedersen and Adam Fejerskov.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackerly, B. (2016). Feminist and Activist Approaches to Human Rights. In M. Goodhart (Ed.), Human Rights: Politics and Practice (pp. 28–43). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahrens, P. (2018). Policy-Making in EU Gender Equality Policy: Actors, Institutions, Programmes. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antrobus, P. (2004). The Global Women’s Movement: Origins, Issues, and Strategies. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antrobus, P. (2005). MDGs: Most Distracting Gimmicks? Convergence,XXXVIII(3), 49–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batliwala, S. (2007). Taking the Power Out of Empowerment: An Experimental Account. Development in Practice,17(4–5), 557–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkovitch, N. (1999). From Motherhood to Citizenship: Women’s Rights and International Organizations. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolkovac, K., & Lynn, C. (2011). The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman’s Fight for Justice. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boserup, E. (1970). Women’s Role in Economic Development. London: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. E. (2004). The Christian Right, Globalization, and the ‘Natural Family’. In M. A. Tétreault & R. A. Denemark (Eds.), Gods, Guns, and Globalization: Religious Radicalism and the International Political Economy (pp. 57–77). London: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Çağlar, G., Prügl, E., & Zwingel, S. (Eds.). (2013). Feminist Strategies in International Governance. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, C. R. (2007). Setting the Advocacy Agenda: Theorizing Issue Emergence and Nonemergence in Transnational Advocacy Networks. International Studies Quarterly,51(1), 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CEDAW. (2008). Views of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Under Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Forty-Ninth Session), Communication No. 17/2008, Pimentel v. Brazil, CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell, L. (2006). Contesting Women’s Rights: Charting the Emergence of a Transnational Conservative Patriarchal Network. Global Society,20(4), 491–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chappell, L. (2016). The Politics of Gender Justice at the International Criminal Court: Legacies and Legitimacy. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Charlesworth, H. (2005). Not Waving but Drowning: Gender Mainstreaming and Human Rights. Harvard Human Rights Journal,18, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charlesworth, H., & Chinkin, C. (2013). The Creation of UN Women (Regnet Research Paper No. 2013/7). Canberra: Centre for International Governance and Justice, Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chinkin, C. (2012). Violence Against Women. In M. A. Freeman, C. Chinkin, & B. Rudolf (Eds.), The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A Commentary (pp. 443–474). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, C. (2008). Mainstreaming Gender in UN Security Policy: A Path to Political Transformation. In S. Rai & G. Waylen (Eds.), Global Governance: Feminist Perspectives (pp. 185–206). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Connors, J. (1996). NGOs and the Human Rights of Women at the United Nations. In P. Willetts (Ed.), The Conscience of the World: The Influence of Non-Governmental Organizations in the UN System (pp. 147–180). London: Hurst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. J. (1995). International Human Rights and Women’s Reproductive Health. In J. Peters & A. Wolper (Eds.), Women’s Rights Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives (pp. 254–275). New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. J. (2013). Human Rights and Maternal Health: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Alyne Decision. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics,41(1), 103–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Haan, F. (2010). A Brief Survey of Women’s Rights. UN Chronicle, XLVII(1). https://unchronicle.un.org/article/brief-survey-womens-rights. Accessed February 12, 2018.

  • Donini, A. (1996). The Bureaucracy and the Free Spirits: Stagnation and Innovation in the Relationship Between the UN and NGOs. In T. G. Weiss & L. Gordenker (Eds.), NGOs, the United Nations, and Global Governance (pp. 83–101). Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eschle, C., & Maiguashca, B. (2010). Making Feminist Sense of the Global Justice Movement. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewelukwa, U. (2005). Centuries of Globalization; Centuries of Exclusion: African Women, Human Rights, and the ‘New’ International Trade Regime. Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law, and Justice,20, 75–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, E. (1995). Women’s Human Rights: The Emergence of a Movement. In J. Peters & A. Wolper (Eds.), Women’s Rights Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives (pp. 18–35). New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galey, M. (1995). Forerunners in Women’s Quest for Partnership. In A. Winslow (Ed.), Women, Politics and the United Nations (pp. 11–27). Westport: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner, K. (2010). Shaping a Global Women’s Agenda: Women’s NGOs and Global Governance, 1925–85. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghodsee, K. (2012). Rethinking State Socialist Mass Women’s Organizations: The Committee of the Bulgarian Women’s Movement and the United Nations Decade for Women, 1975–1985. Journal of Women’s History, 24(4), 49–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haack, K. (2014). Gaining Access to the ‘World’s Largest Men’s Club’: Women Leading UN Agencies. Global Society,28(2), 217–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haney, M. P. (2005). Women’s NGOs at UN Conferences: The 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment as a Watershed Event. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 27(1–2), 181–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, C. (2013). Feminist Strategies in International Organizations: The United Nations Context. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 74–91). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, J. P. (1983). The Memoirs of John P. Humphrey, the First Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 5(3), 392–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussein, A. (2004). Crossroad for Women at the UN. In A. S. Fraser & I. Tinker (Eds.), Developing Power: How Women Transformed International Development (pp. 3–13). New York: The Feminist Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain, D. (2005). Women, Development, and the UN: A Sixty-Year Quest for Equality and Justice—United Nations Intellectual History Project Series. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabeer, N. (2015). Tracking the Gender Politics of the Millennium Development Goals: Struggles for Interpretive Power in the International Development Agenda. Third World Quarterly,36(2), 377–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krook, M., & True, J. (2012). Rethinking the Life Cycles of International Norms: The United Nations and the Global Promotion of Gender Equality. European Journal of International Relations,18(March), 104–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landgren, K. (2015). The Lost Agenda: Gender Parity in Senior UN Appointments. Global Peace Operations Review. http://peaceoperationsreview.org/commentary/the-lost-agenda-gender-parity-in-senior-un-appointments. Accessed December 21, 2017.

  • McKean, W. (1983). The Conventions and Declarations: Equality of the Sexes. In W. McKean (Ed.), Equality and Discrimination Under International Law (pp. 166–193). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mergaert, L., & Lombardo, E. (2014). Resistance to Implementing Gender Mainstreaming in EU Research Policy. In E. Weiner & H. MacRae (Eds.), The Persistent Invisibility of Gender in EU Policy: European Integration Online Papers (EIoP), 1(18), 1–21 (Special Issue). http://eiop.or.at/eiop/texte/2014-005a.htm.

  • Meyer, M. K. (1999). Negotiating International Norms: The Inter-American Commission of Women and the Convention on Violence Against Women. In M. K. Meyer & E. Prügl (Eds.), Gender Politics in Global Governance (pp. 58–71). Lanham, Boulder, New York, and Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moghadam, V. (2005). Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morsink, J. (1991). Women’s Rights in the Universal Declaration. Human Rights Quarterly,13(2), 229–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C. (1993). Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice, Training. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C., & Moser, A. (2005). Gender Mainstreaming Since Beijing: A Review of Success and Limitations in International Institutions. Gender and Development,13(2), 11–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ndulo, M. (2009). The United Nations Responses to the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Women and Girls by Peacekeepers During Peacekeeping Missions. Berkeley Journal of International Law,27(1), 127–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olcott, J. (2010). Cold War Conflicts and Cheap Cabaret: Sexual Politics at the 1975 United Nations International Women’s Year Conference. Gender & History,22(3), 733–754.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, S. (2006). Theorizing Norm Diffusion Within International Organization. International Politics,43(3), 342–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parpart, J. L., Connelly, M. P., & Barriteau, V. E. (Eds.). (2000). Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Development. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pincus, I. (2009). Men, Power and the Problem of Gender Equality Policy Implementation. In A. G. Jónasdóttir & K. B. Jones (Eds.), The Political Interests of Gender Revisited: Redoing Theory and Research with a Feminist Face (pp. 149–166). Tokyo, New York, and Paris: United Nations University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, V. (2007). The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World. New York and London: The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prügl, E. (2013). Gender Expertise as Feminist Strategy. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 57–73). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Razavi, S. (2013). Governing the Economy for Gender Equality? Challenges of Regulation. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 217–232). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Razavi, S. (2016). The 2030 Agenda: Challenges of Implementation to Attain Gender Equality and Women’s Rights. Gender & Development,24(1), 25–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reanda, L. (1992). The Commission on the Status of Women. In P. Alston (Ed.), The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal (pp. 322–347). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, F. (2011). Understanding the Need for UN Women: Notes for New Zealand Civil Society. Women’s Studies Journal,25(1), 31–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, L. (1997). Worlds of Women: The Making of an International Women’s Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, J., & Rao, A. (2012). Strategies of Feminist Bureaucrats (United Nations Experiences IDS Working Paper No. 2012/397). Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, G. (2005). Neolibs, Neocons and Gender Justice: Lessons from Global Negotiations (Occasional Paper No. 9). Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, G., & Grown, C. (1988). Development, Crisis and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives. London: Earthscan Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skard, T. (2009). Gender in the Malestream—Acceptance of Women and Gender Equality in Different United Nations Organisations. Forum for Development Studies,36(1), 155–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M. (2006). Unlikely Godmother: The UN and the Global Women’s Movement. In M. Marx Ferree & A. M. Tripp (Eds.), Global Feminism: Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights (pp. 24–50). New York and London: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Guardian. (2018). Sexual Harassment and Assault Rife at United Nations, Staff Claim. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jan/18/sexual-assault-and-harassment-rife-at-united-nations-staff-claim. Accessed February 12, 2018.

  • Timothy, K. (2004). Walking on Eggshells at the UN. In A. Fraser & I. Tinker (Eds.), Developing Power: How Women Transformed International Development (pp. 50–61). New York: The Feminist Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripp, A. (2006). The Evolution of Transnational Feminisms: Consensus, Conflict, and New Dynamics. In M. Marx Ferree & A. M. Tripp (Eds.), Global Feminism: Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights (pp. 51–75). New York and London: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • True, J. (2012). The Political Economy of Violence Against Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • True, J., & Mintrom, M. (2001). Transnational Networks and Policy Diffusion: The Case of Gender Mainstreaming. International Studies Quarterly,45, 27–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • True, J., & Parisi, L. (2013). Gender Mainstreaming Strategies in International Governance. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 37–56). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNIFEM. (2008). Budgeting for Women’s Rights: Monitoring Government Budgets for Compliance with CEDAW. New York: United Nations Development Fund for Women.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (1996). The United Nations and the Advancement of Women 1945–1996: Blue Book Series (Vol. VI). New York: United Nations Department of Public Information.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (1997, September 18). Report of the Economic and Social Council (UN Doc. A/52/3).

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2010). UN Creates New Structure for Empowerment of Women. United Nations Press Release. http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2010/7/un-creates-new-structure-for-empowerment-of-women. Accessed October 31, 2017.

  • United Nations General Assembly. (2010, January 6). Comprehensive Proposal for the Composite Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women: Report of the Secretary-General (A/64/588).

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Secretary-General. (2006). United Nations Secretary-General’s In-Depth Study on Violence Against Women (A/61/122/Add. 1). New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Secretary-General. (2017). Improvement in the Status of Women in the United Nations System: Report of the Secretary-General (A/72/220). New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Braunmühl, C. (2013). A Feminist Analysis of UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 163–180). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, T. (2012). What’s Wrong with the United Nations and How to Fix It. London: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, B. (2013). Structural Power and the Gender Biases of Technocratic Network Governance in Finance. In G. Çağlar, E. Prügl, & S. Zwingel (Eds.), Feminist Strategies in International Governance (pp. 267–283). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwingel, S. (2016). Translating International Women’s Rights: The CEDAW Convention in Context. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Susanne Zwingel

Authors
  1. Susanne Zwingel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Zwingel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Staden København, Denmark

    Lars Engberg-Pedersen

  2. Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Staden København, Denmark

    Adam Fejerskov

  3. Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Staden København, Denmark

    Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Zwingel, S. (2019). Gender Equality Norms in International Governance: Actors, Contexts, Meanings. In: Engberg-Pedersen, L., Fejerskov, A., Cold-Ravnkilde, S.M. (eds) Rethinking Gender Equality in Global Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15512-4_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation