Luke Power
York University, Canada
Title: The World Bank, Development Policy and the Promotion of Gender Equality: New Ways or Old Tricks?
Biography
Biography: Luke Power
Abstract
This paper provides a critical examination of the World Bank’s development document, “World Bank Group Gender Strategy: Gender Equality, Poverty Reduction, and Inclusive Growth”. The rationale for this is that, while the World Bank suggests that this strategy is a distinction from past practices, some scholars suggest otherwise (Prügl 2017). Thus, the aim of this analysis is to elucidate the implications of the proposed strategies on both gender equality and health equity. The analytical framework derives from the following disciplines: political economy, feminist political economy, and political economy of health. The philosophical underpinning of this examination reflects the tenets of critical realism. In relation to this philosophical paradigm, a critical discourse analysis is employed. Within the document there is a direct emphasis on privatization (private enterprise and financialization) and deregulation. Moreover, there is a clear re-articulation of both the state and female citizenship, whereby the former is presented as an ‘enabling agent’ and the latter becomes depoliticized. Within this paper, it is argued that these strategies lead to the further exaggeration of gender inequalities due to their impact on income and social inequalities. There is a relation between unequal income distribution and health equity: an increase in the former leads to a increase in the latter. These health inequities are compounded by the World Bank’s promotion of a ‘reduced state’ that is focused on constructing a ‘workfare’ based liberal welfare state and a citizen whose political engagement is limited to the community. Thus, instead of reducing inequalities, these strategies reinforce them.