A transversalidade do gênero nos estudos e investimentos do Banco Mundial: uma análise dos relatórios Women, Business and the Law (2010-2021).

Abstract

In the context of international relations, it took several decades for the debate around the concept of gender to be incorporated by international institutions. The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) was a milestone in this process, as it defined the principle of gender mainstreaming for the international agenda and public policies, and the empowerment of women as central actors in political actions. As of 1995, the United Nations - UN opened a new and challenging horizon for international institutions, inserting the issue of gender inequality as central to international organizations, agencies and funds. However, this change has not been incorporated in the same way by the various actors, requiring even deeper changes in financial institutions, traditionally androcentric and elitist. This dissertation aims to understand how the World Bank, a financial organization created in 1944, in Bretton Woods, as one of the pillars of the post-war period, incorporated the gender dimension in its actions. The research was based on specialized bibliography, as well as the survey and analysis of the reports Women, Business and the Law, produced by the World Bank during the last decade (2010-2020), for Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on Brazil. The reports assess how laws can hinder and/or prevent women from entering the labour market and achieving financial independence in 190 economies. Despite the relevance of the Women, Business and the Law reports and other research produced by the institution in the area of gender, it is unclear how the World Bank applies this data in investment decision-making processes. The dissertation revealed that neoliberal macroeconomic policies override new perspectives on investment in the fight against gender inequality, interfering not only in the decision-making process, but also in the formulation and application of efficient and effective actions for the gender issue and especially in the amount to be invested.