In July, 2023, the Board of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

approved the first strategy for

gender mainstreaming in the

institution. In broad terms, it seeks

to mainstream gender in its main

activities: surveillance, lending and

capacity development. Although

the adoption of this strategy is a

milestone and a step forward in the

recognition of links between

financial and macroeconomic policy

and gender equality, the news was

greeted with caution and even

rejection by activists and scholars in

the field of feminist economics.

Beyond the specific criticisms that

can be made against the proposed

strategy, there is a big elephant in

the room when we ask ourselves a

question: "Is a gender perspective

compatible with the Fund’s theory

of change and the conditions that

derive from it?”

In particular, feminist economists

have shown that the economic

model and austerity measures

promoted by the IMF have a

disproportionate and negative

impact on women.