Rather than adopt a rights-based argument for gender equality, corporate sponsors and humanitarian organizations have joined popular authors and performers in bringing attention to gender inequality though “smart economics” and “investing in women,” which are not just social marketing messages, but funding strategies as well. Yet the value of economic changes for women and girls cannot be assumed, it has to be assessed against some standard, and that standard should not be purely economic, such as income growth for her family, her community and her country. Whether women’s rights understood broadly are improved or diminished by economic opportunities is a research question, not a reasoned conclusion. Approaching women’s empowerment through a human rights lens can make clear when economic opportunities are benefiting or exploiting individual women. New advocates for gender equality can learn from decades of feminist research that without attention to the many structural, political and social aspects of women’s oppression, attempts to alleviate a single aspect of women’s oppression will fail. Those interested in improving gender equality should push for the collection of new and better data to reflect women’s progress in achieving their human rights, which include, but are not limited to economic rights.
