Feminist Development Policy #2: Knowledge as Power

In this briefing, we will be looking at the topic of knowledge as power. There are four aspects of knowledge as power that we believe need to be addressed to achieve more FEMINIST GLOBAL COLLABORATION: the different knowledge we value, the knowledge we exclude by prioritising some forms over others, the phenomenon of knowledge extraction and reflecting on the knowledge held by who is actually doing development, and to what end.

The hierarchical flow of developmental knowledge from the Global North to the Global South highlights the problem of whose knowledge is recognized and what kind of knowledge. There is power in deciding which type of data is collected, how it is analysed and what it is used for – and power in deciding which knowledge to ignore. In this way, knowledge becomes a vehicle for perpetuating inequalities in the development sector.

Thus, a key part of FEMINIST GLOBAL COLLABORATION is creating new organisational structures and cultures that respect and value the knowledge and perspectives of the myriad communities and people based in the Global South.

Further publications of this series:

• Feminist Development Policy  
• Feminist Development Policy #3: Intersectionality, gender & the economy
• Feminist Development Policy #4: Funding beyond power differentials
• Feminist Development Policy #5: Beyond Representation