Carol Barton reflects on the concerns of women's movements about the millennium development goals (MDGs). She argues that the MDGs can potentially be used as an instrument to advance a global feminist agenda to the extent that feminist organizations define the terms of the debate. She presents the intense debates among women's organizations about how to engage with the MDGs and how they link to Beijing, Cairo and CEDAW. Development (2005) 48, 101–106. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100113