New research from the International Women’s Development Agency concludes feminist foreign policy is created through transformative political change — driven by an individual in government willing to challenge the political norms. The findings require a shift in how NGOs and civil society engage the government to create change in this area of policy.
“This is a challenging finding,” Alice Ridge, research, policy, and advocacy adviser at IWDA, explained. “We’re working through what this implication means for our work.”
The research, presented at the 2021 Commission on the Status of Women Australia conference, analyzed the drivers for countries that have announced feminist foreign policies — Sweden, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Mexico, and Spain. In Sweden, a feminist foreign policy has resulted in issues affecting women and girls being a focus of discussion and negotiations at multilateral forums.