Everybody's Game: Aligning Feminist Approaches to 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The current context of feminist paradox calls for feminist strategic re-orientation towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the proliferation of feminist scholarship, activism, and gender mainstreaming policies, progress on gender equality is underwhelming, while dominant discourses define feminism as fragmented and ineffective. This article draws parallels between feminism and international development, asserting that scholars and activists should resist temptations to embrace single definitions of feminist concepts and strategies in the name of disciplinary cohesion. Instead, much like international development, feminism should nurture its diversity of thought, insisting on strategic feminist solidarity and social justice objectives. Synergies between feminism and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) are highlighted while arguing for contextualized, locally-rooted feminist action. This strategic alignment offers tools of feminist empowerment including platforms for feminist exchange of expertise, flexible and long-term funding for local movements, and greater institutional accountability for gender-transformative policies. On the other end, feminist interventions and activism are needed to supplement Agenda 2030' s limited definition of inclusivity, counter its tendencies of feminist de-politicization, and integrate a reflexive approach to the translation of global commitments to national initiatives. This article affirms that diverse, locally-interpreted, and globally coordinated feminist efforts are needed to ensure truly inclusive, economically fair, and environmentally responsible future envisioned by Agenda 2030, but also strengthen linkages between feminist theories and their effective political and social applications.