How to get away with unequal gender equality: on hegemonic paradigms, masked exclusions, and self-legitimation strategies

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this work is to analyse hierarchies, gaps, and exclusions present in the gender equality framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly its Sustainable Development Goal 5. More specifically, I critically analyse: (1) the co-existence of hegemonic and counter-hegemonic elements in the 2030 Agenda’s/SDG5’s gender equality framework, with the privileging and invisibility of its Western-hegemonic facet; (2) how gender, sexual orientation, racial, and historical silencings found in this framework limit its potentialities; (3) how these silencings are masked through self-legitimation strategies, which I call Divertising and Othernization of Inequalities. The findings suggest the 2030 Agenda’s/SDG5’s gender equality framework potentially creates a situation in which Othernized peoples oppressed by gender-related/intersected violences are many times left with limited choices: they are either being oppressed within their own realities or they are being imposed a ‘salvation’ with Western-dominant paradigms that also maintain and perpetuate oppression and violence.

KEYWORDS:

• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Development Goal 5
• Othernization of inequalities
• silencings

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The official websites are, respectively: https://www.unssc.org/ and https://portal.trainingcentre. unwomen.org/.

2 The course is available in the United Nations System Staff College, while the SDG Primer book can be found in: https://unsdg.un.org/download/1565/11286.

3 This manuscript is part of a broader research, connected to my doctoral thesis, in which I focus in these four dimensions. However, many other dimensions could – and should – be further explored.

4 5.1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

5 5.3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

6 5.2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

7 5.4. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.

8 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

9 Indicator 5.6.1. Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care.

10 See, for instance, 2022 Sustainable Development Goal Report, available in https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/.

11 For more debates on historical-colonial responsibilities for these gender-related/intersected inequalities, see, for instance, Dill, 1988; Guerrero, 2003.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: [Grant Number 2022.13258.BD].

Notes on contributors

Laís Rodrigues

Laís Rodrigues is a Law School graduate with a Master's degree in Constitutional Law and a Master's degree in Business Administration. Currently, Laís is in the PhD programme “Sociology of the State, Law and Justice” at the University of Coimbra, with the doctoral fellowship nº 2022.13258.BD, financed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).