Feminist Foreign Policy
Feminist Foreign Policy
The Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States is a collective effort to develop a vision for the highest standard of U.S. foreign policy that promotes overarching goals of gender equality, human rights, bodily autonomy, peace, and environmental integrity while articulating concrete policy recommendations.
What is a Feminist Foreign Policy?
Feminist foreign policy is the most recent policy innovation aims for a transformative and rights-based approach across all auspices of a nation’s foreign policy. Following formal announcements of feminist foreign policies in a number of countries, starting with the launch of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy in 2014, followed by a Canadian Feminist Foreign Assistance Policy in 2017, announcements for the same by France and Luxembourg in 2019, and, most recently, the launch of a Mexican Feminist Foreign Policy in January 2020, the time has come to consider what approach the United States could take.
What is Our Vision for the United States?
In August 2019, a group of U.S. foreign policy experts and advocates for global gender equality came together over three days to sketch out an initial draft of a U.S. feminist foreign policy. Participants reviewed other countries’ feminist foreign policies, as well as insights from their prior consultations with more than 100 feminist activists from over 40 countries as to what a global template or gold standard for feminist foreign policy should entail. For the latter, the group gathered information on topics that had been omitted or underdeveloped at the time of drafting: humanitarian assistance, immigration policy, nuclear policy, and points of intersection between feminist agendas at home and abroad. The resulting publication, launched in May 2020, includes a proposed definition, key principles, and policy recommendations that provide a visionary approach for a fundamentally different way of conducting foreign policy in a manner that places people and the planet above profit and individual interest.
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