Feminist foreign policy: A tool for advancing gender equality

After participating in the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy in Madrid, Equality Now reflects on why foreign policy decisions have a direct impact on the rights of women, girls and adolescents, and why civil society participation is key to driving responses to global challenges.

Decisions affecting the rights of women, girls and adolescents are also influenced by international forums where political priorities, cooperation agreements and commitments are negotiated – decisions that can either accelerate or hinder progress towards gender equality.

For this reason, Equality Now participates in multilateral forums where governments, international organisations and civil society organisations discuss some of the most pressing challenges to gender equality. These include the Ministerial Conferences on Feminist Foreign Policy, high-level forums where foreign ministers, alongside representatives from international organisations and civil society, exchange perspectives and develop strategies to promote gender equality on the international agenda. These conferences emerged as independent global summits following the momentum generated by this approach, which was initiated by Sweden in 2014 when it adopted the world’s first Feminist Foreign Policy.

What is feminist foreign policy?

Although there is no single definition, feminist foreign policy is based on the idea that gender equality and human rights must be central considerations in international relations. This involves analysing how decisions regarding diplomacy, cooperation, security, development funding and digital governance affect women, girls and adolescents differently, and taking measures to promote more equitable and inclusive participation in decision-making.

In June 2026, representatives from 28 countries gathered in Madrid for the 5th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy. The declaration adopted at the close of the meeting reaffirmed the participating states’ commitment to gender equality, human rights, multilateralism and the full and meaningful participation of women in all their diversity in decision-making forums. It also highlighted the need to address contemporary challenges such as democratic backsliding, threats to human rights, gender-based violence and persistent economic inequalities.

Feminist foreign policy in practice

The Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy brings together governments, international organisations and civil society organisations to discuss how to integrate gender equality into foreign policy, international cooperation and global governance. For Equality Now, these forums represent an opportunity to strengthen alliances, exchange experiences and contribute to debates that influence the protection and advancement of the rights of women, girls and adolescents in different regions of the world.

The participation of our Latin America and Caribbean team also reflects the importance of the region’s feminist organisations and networks in these forums. The conference provides an opportunity to coordinate strategies with partner organisations, deepen dialogue with government representatives and international organisations, and ensure that the region’s experiences and priorities are represented in global discussions.

From Latin America and the Caribbean, we share lessons learned from our work in areas such as access to justice for survivors of sexual violence, legal reforms to eliminate discriminatory laws, the eradication of harmful practices, and the response to technology-facilitated violence. At the same time, these exchanges allow us to draw on experiences from other regions and develop responses to common challenges, such as the rise of anti-rights movements, disinformation and the shrinking of civic space.

International cooperation priorities, multilateral commitments and funding decisions directly influence states’ capacity to prevent violence, guarantee access to justice, drive legal reforms that strengthen equality, and protect the human rights of women, girls and adolescents.

For this reason, a feminist foreign policy can only bring about real change when it incorporates the voices and experiences of civil society. Feminist and human rights organisations, women human rights defenders, academics and regional networks provide knowledge, evidence and perspectives that are fundamental to understanding how international policies impact the daily lives of women, girls and adolescents.

Challenges to sustaining a feminist foreign policy

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of observatories, networks and other forums for collaboration on feminist foreign policy has grown. This interest reflects the increasing involvement of organisations, experts and activists seeking to contribute to these debates from a critical and transformative perspective. These initiatives strengthen accountability and promote more inclusive and effective policies.

A foreign policy that aims to promote sustainable peace, democracy and gender equality requires the active participation of women, in all their diversity, in decision-making forums. However, obstacles still remain to ensuring that civil society can exert effective influence and that the priorities of women, girls and adolescents are reflected in the policies adopted.

Feminist foreign policy should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a tool to advance human rights, gender justice and substantive equality. For civil society, the challenge remains to expand diverse and effective participation in the forums where agreements and priorities that impact the lives of women, girls and adolescents are shaped.

In a context marked by the rise of anti-rights movements and growing pressure on multilateral systems, forums such as this conference serve as a reminder that gender equality cannot be a sectoral objective. It must remain a priority in foreign policy, international cooperation and collective action to protect and expand the rights of women, girls and adolescents.