DIIS seminar: Lighed for kønnene i bistanden

Gender equality and women’s empowerment constitute the third of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG3) adopted by the United Nations in 2001. Compared to the other MDGs, it addresses norms and practices discriminating a particular social group and is in this way directly challenging those who exercise this discrimination.

However, the goal is not binding for anyone though it has received widespread support in international development cooperation. A new research programme, Global Norms and Heterogeneous Donor Organisations (GLONO), is analysing the extent to which the MDG3 influences foreign aid provided by very different donor organisations, including South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA), Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam International, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA).

This seminar introduces the research programme and invites for discussion of the role of gender equality in the post-2015 development framework.

The monitoring of the MDG3 shows mixed results, and there is currently some opposition globally to a new development goal on gender equality and notably the related concern with sexual and reproductive health and rights. So, how should the discussion of gender equality in the post-2015 framework be addressed and what should Denmark and Danish organisations do?

Programme