Social Recovery from Conflict: A feminist study of IFI policies in post-peace agreement Colombia

Abstract: In recent decades, international financial institutions (IFIs) have become loud advocates for gender equality in development and post-conflict recovery contexts. Several organisations have incorporated standalone objectives of women’s empowerment and gender equality in their work. However, feminist scholars have aimed critique towards IFIs for perpetuating already existing inequalities in post-conflict societies with neoliberal reforms that favour recovery of the economic system rather than social aspects of recovery. This thesis explores this topic further through the case of Colombia. To add to the understanding of social recovery from conflict, the thesis uses a combination of theoretical frameworks, feminist post-conflict recovery and gender centrality, to analyse country-specific policy documents from three IFIs: the World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the OECD. The material was coded in NVivo and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The thesis concludes that IFIs, despite claiming to work towards the inclusion of women in their policies, largely fail to meaningfully address the structural impediments to women’s empowerment and instead tend to emphasise and support the country’s overall growth.