Abstract

Recent years have seen vast sums of money invested in health, education and economic empowerment Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs for women and girls, particularly in the Global South. Feminist scholars of IPE have charted how transnational corporations (TNCs) have partnered with international institutions, donor governments and non-governmental organizations to position themselves as champions of gender equality. There is some debate in the literature over whether this phenomenon constitutes a co-optation or an appropriation of feminism. In this article, I focus on the behavior of TNCs, arguing that it can be conceptualized as ‘gender wash.’ Drawing on the extensive environmental literature on the ‘greenwashing’ of corporations’ public images, I outline a framework for analyzing CSR as ‘gender washing.’ Adapting Lyon and Montgomery’s summary of the greenwashing literature, I present seven varieties of gender wash – selective disclosure, empty gender claims and policies, dubious certifications and labels, co-opted NGO endorsements and partnerships, ineffective public voluntary programs, misleading narrative and discourse, and misleading branding – giving illustrative examples for each. In doing so, I aim to put forward a useful tool for critiquing contradictory claims made by corporations whose products, business model or employment practices are inherently damaging to women and girls.

摘要

近年来，大量资金投资于针对妇女和女孩的健康、教育和经济赋权企业社会责任 (CSR) 计划，特别是在全球南方。IPE 的女权主义学者描绘了跨国公司 (TNC) 如何与国际机构、捐助国政府和非政府组织合作，将自己定位为性别平等的倡导者。关于这种现象是对女权主义的吸收还是挪用，文献中有一些争论。在本文中，我关注跨国公司的行为，认为它可以被概念化为“性别清洗”。借鉴关于企业公共形象“漂绿”的大量环境文献，我概述了将企业社会责任分析为“性别漂洗”的框架。'改编里昂和蒙哥马利对漂绿文献的总结，我提出了七种性别清洗——选择性披露、空洞的性别主张和政策、可疑的认证和标签、非政府组织的认可和伙伴关系、无效的公共志愿计划、误导性的叙述和话语, 和误导性品牌 - 为每个提供说明性示例。在这样做的过程中，我的目标是提出一个有用的工具来批评那些产品、商业模式或就业实践本质上对妇女和女孩有害的公司提出的相互矛盾的主张。误导性的叙述和话语，以及误导性的品牌——为每一个都提供说明性的例子。在这样做的过程中，我的目标是提出一个有用的工具来批评那些产品、商业模式或就业实践本质上对妇女和女孩有害的公司提出的相互矛盾的主张。误导性的叙述和话语，以及误导性的品牌——为每一个都提供说明性的例子。在这样做的过程中，我的目标是提出一个有用的工具来批评那些产品、商业模式或就业实践本质上对妇女和女孩有害的公司提出的相互矛盾的主张。