The Trump administration has spent a week directing USAID and other government departments to remove any references to gender equality, women’s empowerment and LGBTQIA+ programs from their websites (and the USAID website now down altogether).
So it was a great relief on Wednesday to see Australia launch its International Gender Equality Strategy. The strategy itself is a welcome signal of Australia’s intention to ensure that gender equality is a continuing part of its work through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and to stand strong on the realisation of human rights for all.
At a time when anti-rights movements are not only pushing back but are actively dismantling gender equality and human rights throughout the world, enabled by a increasingly illiberal and authoritarian politics, a firm commitment to gender equality is an important baseline for an inclusive and representative democracy like Australia.
The strongest section of the strategy is the first thematic focus area of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). While these have both been funding and diplomatic priorities for Australia over the years, the elevation of SRHR and the naming of comprehensive sexuality education and abortion – two of the most targeted issues in a competitive field – as priorities for funding and advocacy send a strong message that Australia is not going to step away from its leadership in the international space on these issues. It is clear that decades of work on these topics – coupled by ongoing advocacy from feminist civil society – has reinforced an internal view of their importance and bolstered DFAT’s willingness to mount a case for their clear inclusion in this strategy.
Another notable and welcome focus is on funding for women’s rights organisations and movements, alongside refugee-led organisations. The recognition of women’s rights organisations as key agents of change and a commitment to being a “reliable funding partner” is a strong acknowledgement of those who have been advocating for DFAT to step up in how they fund and partner with feminist movements. The strategy also commits to an increase in funding for these organisations which is vital, particularly in the current context.
However, in other areas, the strategy seems to lack connection between the analysis underpinning each thematic area, and the actions DFAT will take. For example, the section on women’s economic equality and inclusive trade acknowledges the gendered division of unpaid care, but the actions do not address the need to redistribute this load, or change the norms surrounding it. While a focus on relieving symptoms is hugely important, alone it is insufficient to drive gender equality.
The focus on gender equitable climate action and humanitarian assistance are both welcome, however the blurring of the two is unhelpful. Gender responsive climate action must go well beyond climate-induced disaster response. While there is passing reference to a focus on mitigation, adaptation and resilience, there is more to do to unpack a gendered – let alone feminist – understanding of the climate crises and ways forward.
As a relatively tight strategy this is the case across many issues, most of which only get a small mention. This leaves lots of space to further unpack how the strategy will guide practice over time. And while the lack of focus on systemic actions or the naming of a feminist approach feels like a gap on the page, the strategy does provide plenty of hooks for more structural and transformative change opportunities to be woven through the stated commitments and so holds the potential that it will be less of a gap in practice.
The government should be applauded for releasing the strategy at a time when there would have been as many, if not more, reasons to sit on it.
It is difficult to analyse the weaknesses of this strategy without reference to current global politics on gender, which is both constraining a sense of what is politically possible, while demanding that Australia rise to meet the challenges of the moment. While Foreign Minister Penny Wong and DFAT deserve credit for launching such a strategy in this context, it remains true that the strategy is silent on, or insufficient to address, a number of those challenges.
The strategy fails to explicitly mention gender diversity or the rights of transgender and intersex peoples as an explicit component of gender equality, aside from a text box referencing the intersection of LGBTQIA+ identities with gender and disability. This is a step back from the 2016 strategy which acknowledged the need to transform gender norms for “women and men, as well as transgender and intersex people.” The decision to replace this explicit acknowledgement with references to “all people” points to a gap in political will, and leaves supporters and detractors alike to read between the lines and apply their own interpretation.
The strategy also fails to substantially discuss poverty or set itself up to address gendered poverty in a meaningful way. It appears geared more towards targeting women’s economic inclusion and participation in middle income economies and in reference to the formal labour force than targeting and addressing the needs of those most excluded. There are some good references to social protection, but in the absence of an explicit articulation of gendered poverty, it isn’t clear how else Australia intends to promote economic pathways to equality.
The government should be applauded for releasing the strategy at a time when there would have been as many, if not more, reasons to sit on it. However, now that it is released, it is imperative that it is backed up by funding and action. The strategy raises hopes and expectations that Australia will stand firm on gender equality in the multilateral, regional and bilateral arenas and the opportunities to do so will be plentiful.
