This article is part of the 'Advancing gender just economies' series, presented by ourEconomy, ActionAid, FEMNET, Womankind Worldwide and Fight Inequality Alliance.
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development (FFD). FFD is the process supporting the financing of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development made up of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other UN development and human rights frameworks and conventions including Beijing Platform for Action. This is the first high-level dialogue since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in 2015, where feminists, women’s rights organisations and civil society campaigned for an inclusive intergovernmental body within the United Nations to reform international tax rules to finance public services and to realize gender equality.
Why do these financing decisions matter to gender equality and women’s rights? With close to a decade remaining for the curtains to fall on Agenda 2030, this is where states show if they are putting their money where their mouth is and decide where the money for the SDGs is coming from and what actions will be prioritized. Women’s voices go largely unheard in the policy debates dominated by global capital. While States accommodate corporate demands for tax incentives, the needs of women and demands to tax corporations fairly are neglected. Women face challenges due to inadequate financing for and provision of public services, as regressive tax policies and underfunded public services perpetuate women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work.
