Corruption disproportionately affects women and marginalised groups, limiting access to essential services, economic opportunities, and political representation. Yet, many anti-corruption efforts lack a gendered perspective, and feminist movements have not always recognised corruption as a structural barrier to equality.

Addressing these gaps is crucial for creating inclusive and effective anti-corruption strategies.

At the 69th session of the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW69, March 2025), civil society, government, and academic representatives organised a significant side event: Anti-Corruption as a Feminist Cause: the gendered dimensions of power abuse. More than 100 participants discussed ways to advance strategies that not only combat corruption but also promote gender equality and social justice. This blog presents some of the key talking points from the event.

Priorities for corruption and gender

In her opening remarks, Dr Annika Thunborg, director in the Department for UN Policy, Conflict and Migration at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, highlighted how, historically, anti-corruption and gender equality have been treated as distinct policy areas: many anti-corruption programmes have been designed without gender-specific considerations, while gender equality initiatives have not always considered the obstacle that corruption presents.

Thunborg, though, sees the two issues as mutually reinforcing: gender inequality breeds corruption, and corruption exacerbates gender inequalities. And, crucially, they are still mutually reinforcing when it comes to tackling them: successfully addressing corruption improves gender equality, and improving gender equality helps to address corruption.

This potential highlights the importance of the anti-corruption and gender equality communities joining forces.

Moving the ‘gender and power’ debate forward

Professor Elin Bjarnegård from Uppsala University outlined in her keynote speech three interrelated assumptions about women and corruption:

(1) Gender is not just women. There is still a lack of focus on men and masculinities in gender and corruption research, despite the fact that most people in positions of power are still men. Corruption builds on close-knit networks in which members have resources of some kind. In most societies today, women lack access to both the resources and those networks, making their path to power much more challenging.

It is thus important that anti-corruption efforts incorporate the second assumption: that (2) women are just people. Women and gender should neither be idealised nor marginalised. There is a pervasive bias that casts women as peacemakers, budget-keepers, and democracy defenders, and this unfairly constrains perceptions of their broader leadership capabilities. This practice of gender-washing also places unreasonably high expectations on women in positions of power, and they often face backlash if these expectations are not met.

Therefore, (3) women alone cannot be the solution to the abuse of power, and the abuse of power cannot be understood unless men are also recognised as gendered beings. To transform gendered norms and structures, while acting against corruption, we must work with those in power to help them bring reform – weaving equal and inclusive structures into institutions.

Gender is integral to all forms of corruption, and a gendered perspective on the abuse of power is vital.

Sexual corruption: An under-legislated, under-reported abuse of power

Åsa Eldén, from Uppsala University, explained that sexual corruption consists of three main spheres:

• Abuse of authority
• Sex as a currency
• A quid pro quo.

But prosecuting the phenomenon is complicated, partly because sex is not generally recognised as a currency in corruption. Whereas sexual harassment is often determined by the presence (or lack) of consent on the part of the victim, sexual corruption is always conditional and never truly consensual by nature. It revolves around the abuse of entrusted authority, regardless of who appears to have taken the initiative. Consequently (and echoing Professor Bjarnegård’s argument above), women alone cannot be tasked with solving the abuse of power; instead, greater focus is needed on ending impunity.

Significant gaps in legislation on sexual corruption around the world constitute a challenge to reporting, and unsupportive legal systems present barriers for victims – often favouring the perpetrator in these cases.

Mais Katt, from the Syria Institute of Peace and Conflict, also highlighted the obstacle of fear in reporting sexual corruption, especially for those in already vulnerable positions.

It is therefore important to pass and implement legislation on sexual corruption and focus on the responsibility of those in positions of power who abuse their entrusted authority.

Everyday corruption and its gendered impact

In the session led by Annie Healion from Transparency International and Kristy Kelly from Drexel University, case examples highlighted the gendered impact of everyday corruption in general – and sexual corruption in particular. In some settings, access to basic services like education or healthcare is sometimes contingent on payment of extra ‘fees’ – especially around reproductive care, and the impacts of these barriers fall disproportionately on women.

The impacts of everyday sexual corruption were also highlighted. This includes, for example, sex in return for job opportunities or procurement contracts, or – in education systems – sex for admission or grades. These constitute a barrier to services, and again, women are more likely to be impacted.

Very few victims speak up about these practices, fearing backlash and blame. Therefore, it is important to empower women to speak up by providing the necessary support to do so.

And while it is important to work with victims, it is also necessary to push for stronger legal mechanisms. Without these, victims’ expectations of justice may be raised, before the concrete solutions to abuses of power are in place.

The unjust burden on female leaders

Women in leadership positions are essential to the democratic process, but the systems that they enter are often shaped by corruption before they reach high office. Ortrun Merkle from UNU-Merit and Maastricht University and Matthew Gichohi from the Christian Michelsen Institute, addressed the perception that having women in politics reduces corruption. They noted the unfair burden this puts on women to fix broken systems, while men and institutions are let off the hook for abuses of power.

The number of women in politics globally is certainly increasing, but relatively few are in genuine leadership positions, either as heads of government or of powerful ministries. Political financing and enforcement, and the power of informal male homosocial networks in funding and party dynamics are two factors reinforcing corruption and reducing female representation and access.

A related issue was raised concerning gender-washing: using female quotas or lists to boost the number of women in politics, but ignoring meaningful participation.

When women do find their way to leadership positions and take a strong stance against corruption, they often face resistance. If women are seen as a threat to existing financial flows, for example, they may face violence and smear campaigns. Fearing attacks and retaliation, women withdraw from politics; democracy inevitably suffers; and a culture of fear and compliance grows. This leads to weak accountability, allowing power structures to remain in place and corruption to continue.

Transforming political spaces

To tackle corruption and promote gender equality, Merkle and Gichohi felt that the focus should not only be on how many women are in politics, but on the conditions under which they are there. The challenge is to transform political spaces so that integrity, inclusion, and accountability are the norm, not the exception.

It is difficult to find a productive space to have a policy discussion on this without moving into an instrumentalist discussion on whether women should be the cleaners of corrupt systems. The first step is getting women into political office. Then, discussions should follow on what systems or rules exist that encourage institutions to function properly, whether we see women in these institutions, whether they have positions of power within them, and how they can get more buy-in. It is also important to look at intersectionality and diversity beyond women, which women are in power, and who they represent.

It is necessary to move away from the narrative of the incorruptible woman and focus on the nuances of how corruption prevents women from entering office, as well as the role it plays in limiting their space for action.

Rethinking anti-corruption frameworks from a feminist, gender-transformative perspective

Sofia Peters from Global Fund for Women noted the importance of stepping away from a legalistic approach by first addressing systemic power imbalances, and examining how corruption affects women, marginalised groups, and communities. Feminist movements are already fighting corruption, but there is a need to better interconnect feminist and anti-corruption efforts.

Viktoria Von Knobloch from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) emphasised how it is indispensable to mainstream a gendered, inclusive perspective in development programmes and policies, and to promote a culture of integrity. This can be done through organising and participating in side events across various forums, such as the United Nations General Assembly and the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption.

Finally, in her concluding remarks, Laura Nyirinkindi, Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, shared that evidence presented in working group reports and findings from country visits shows how corruption serves as a structural barrier to achieving gender equality, and exacerbates the inequality gap.

Corruption diminishes resources for gender responsive development, hampers opportunities for advancement, aggravates gender-based violence, and subjects women and girls to coercion, undue influence, and economic marginalisation. It is crucial to establish transparent and accountable governance institutions that prioritise gender equality to combat corruption. Addressing these will contribute to dismantling systemic corruption and its detrimental effects on women and girls.