The debate on gender equality in international organizations is not new – and neither is the attention some states pay to it. Yet feminism tends to be little or not at all addressed in the work of foreign policy or in the language of international institutions.
That being said, six countries have vowed to implement a feminist foreign policy or a gender-based foreign policy – the latest of which is Spain. As Irune Aguirrezabal, who has a PhD in interdisciplinary gender studies and is the director of Strategic and Policy Consultancy for the Parity Agenda 2030, says: “So far there are few countries that have taken the step towards building a feminist foreign policy, and Spain has done so, so it is leading the way”.
Feminist foreign policy is increasingly gaining traction in discourses, but this does not always come from states. International organizations like Oxfam and Amnesty International, as well as global think tanks and feminist groups, have for years been promoting this debate, to encourage governments to include such policies in their agendas.
