International Organizations and Gender: New Paradigms and Old Habits

Citation:

Bessis, Sophie. 2004. "International Organizations and Gender: New Paradigms and Old Habits." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 29 (2): 633-647.

Author: Sophie Bessis

Annotation:

Summary:
“The principal arguments that the bank presents to justify its 1987 conversion to a gender approach are of a purely economic and strategic nature. Women should be assisted not because their rights are scandalously abused but because the abuse of their rights is an obstacle to the reproduction of dominant economic models in the countries of the South. The fact that women, even in the most difficult circumstances, are able to capture the dynamism of the market sphere is, in the eyes of World Bank experts, a significant step toward the much-desired generalization of market forces. The question of women’s rights is thus secondary for an institution that sees women first and foremost as a new type of economic actor, a possible guarantor of social stability in an era when that stability is increasingly difficult to achieve. The World Bank has thus instrumentalized women in the sense that their promotion is not an end in itself but rather a means of implementing the bank’s policies for economic growth and eradication of poverty” (Bessis 2004, 641).

Topics: Gender Mainstreaming, International Financial Institutions, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2004

© 2023 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.