International development policy over the past few years has shifted back to a focus on economic growth rather than a rights-based agenda. This has closed a "window of opportunity" opened in 1995 following the Beijing world conference on women, say many working for women's empowerment and gender equality.
At a recent conference hosted by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the discussion focused on women's economic and political empowerment, and how to reframe the argument.
Jane Gabriel spoke to Rosalind Eyben of IDS, Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay of the Royal Tropical Insititute in the Netherlands and Helen O'Connell of One World Action, about what has happened to the argument for women's human rights in international policy. All members of the Pathways of Women's Empowerment RPC, they shared their views on the latest twists in a long struggle for gender equality.
Further reporting on the conference here, by Grace Davies.
This podcast is part of a series produced through a collaboration between openDemocracy and the Pathways of Women's Empowerment research consortium. You can listen to other podcasts in the series here, plus read articles and blog posts exploring the ideas, issues and projects of the research. The latest article in the series, published alongside this podcast is by Emily Esplen of IDS; "Men and gender justice: old debate, new perspectives".
