ABSTRACT
Gender both has a standalone goal and cuts across all other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Fought for by women’s groups, the prominence given to gender has been supported by key international organizations, many of which rely at least in part on governance by indicators. This chapter illuminates the treatment of gender equality in the processes that formed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the SDGs, two global social policy projects driven by a governance by indicators approach. Tracing the treatment of gender equality along these processes of formation shows that MDG formation retreated from contestations found in the UN conferences of the 1990s while the SDG formation process opened up spaces for contestation. These spaces can be used for engaging with and contesting the quantification of global gender equality norms. While we agree with critics that quantification does pose risks, we argue that refusing to engage with the quantification of global norms is a mistake. In addition, this chapter highlights the extent to which the SDGs grapple with issues central to the struggle for gender equality, including sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, paid and unpaid work, women’s participation, and “enabling conditions” for gender equality.
