African women challenging neo-liberal economic orthodoxy: the conception and mission of the GERA programme

Abstract

Despite the many international commitments to gender equality, much remains to be done in terms of mainstreaming commitment to gender equality into development. It seems that the major global development institutions appear currently to be more concerned with mainstreaming trade into development. For example, the outcomes of the major international conferences, from the International Conference on Financing for Development to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, show a great deal of progress made in mainstreaming trade into development. Women's rights and gender activists have voiced their concern that this progress is paralleled by lip service to gender equality and women's rights. This article focuses on the activities of the GERA (Gender and Economic Reforms in Africa) programme. GERA is a pan-African research and advocacy programme which aims to increase the participation of African women in the formulation of economic policy. The article highlights some critical strategic issues that need to be addressed: the depoliticisation of economic policy, the governance of multilateral trade, and the way in which human security is conceptualised.