Feminist approaches to global economic governance: the G20 as a platform for step change?

Abstract

This chapter considers the engagement of feminist ideas with the G20. It argues that the G20 deserves the attention of feminist scholarship because of its potential to progress women’s involvement on global economic governance. The Group of 20 (G20) Leaders have explicitly acknowledged the need for gender inclusive economic growth and the ‘Women 20’ was created as an official engagement group in 2015. Taken at face value, these developments indicate a new model of agency for women traditionally excluded from economic decision-making. However, as we demonstrate, if we delve a little deeper into the G20 then the feminist influence is open to challenge and requires further advancement. In this chapter, we contend that the inability of the G20 to realize substantial improvements in women’s economic parity reveals deep and systemic gendered limitations in its decision-making processes and its ability to meaningfully engage global public audiences as participants in global economic governance.