The challenges of the present moment are overwhelming. Right-wing nationalist and authoritarian political movements have weakened post-war traditions of cooperation and institutions of multilateralism. To be sure, modernization of these practices and institutions was long overdue. But it is difficult today to see how we can sustain the political will necessary to construct a revitalized, relevant, permissive, inclusive and feminist multilateralism. This political project is essential if we are to meet the challenges of our time, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on gender equality. This goal is a central driver of this paper. The miseries of that period amplified already existing deficits in the care economy and increased the burdens on and threatened the life chances of women and girls the world over. […]