This article reflects on gender mainstreaming policies post Beijing and their impact on development cooperation and relations between the Global North and Global South. The analysis is based on an examination of gender equality politics in Sweden, their connection with an interpretation of gender mainstreaming and the application of this approach in work on education change and development cooperation in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Interviews with Lao government officials at ministry and university levels are used to exemplify how gender mainstreaming can present both possibilities and problems in a local context. The article argues that gender mainstreaming as a political strategy requires a strong focus on contextual circumstances in order to become a vehicle for social transformation.