How gender and political ideology impact women-focused aid to sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT Foreign aid plays a critical role in actualising pro-women outcomes in the Global South. However, there is a paucity of research on how gender and political ideology inform gender-oriented foreign aid to sub-Saharan countries. This study examines how gender and political ideology inform the trends of women-focused foreign aid donations from Australia, Canada, Finland, and Germany to sub-Saharan African nations from 2002 to 2016. During this period, government leaders and ministers in the donor countries were from different genders and political ideologies. The study reveals that female heads of government gave more women-focused aid to sub-Saharan Africa than male heads of government. The study also found that right-wing heads of government allocated more women-focused assistance to sub-Saharan Africa than left-wing politicians. This study points to the importance of the active role of female heads of government in effectively mainstreaming and furthering the idea of gender equality on a global scale.