When A Girl Becomes A Tree: The Seductive Promise of the Girl Effect

Abstract

Investing in girls’ education and economic opportunity has become a growing focus area within international development and corporate philanthropy, often framed as a long-term economic growth strategy first and a gender equality strategy second. Through feminist and postcolonial lenses, Kathryn Moeller’s The Gender Effect: Capitalism, Feminism, and the Corporate Politics of Development uncovers the shaky ground on which this narrative of girl empowerment has been built and poses fundamental questions regarding the need for girls to be high-return investments to be worthy of aid and attention. In her Rio de Janeiro-based ethnography, Moeller chooses to center and humanize the experiences of the young female participants of the Nike Foundation’s interventions, exploring their aspirations, needs, and challenges which the interventions often fail to meaningfully address. Ultimately, Moeller makes a persuasive case for not letting the macro theory of change get in the way of understanding the unique forms of structural discrimination and violence girls experience that are deeply tied to local culture and institutions that no amount of corporate goodwill alone can solve.