Drawing on Foucauldian and postcolonial feminist perspectives, this article examines how gender equality is given meaning and applied in humanitarian aid to refugees. Focusing on what the implications are regarding the production of subjectivities and their positioning in relations of power, the analysis identifies two main problems of representation: a representation of gender equality as a means to aid effectiveness, and a representation of gender equality as a project of development. The article concludes by arguing that gender equality within humanitarian policy and practice operates as a tool of emancipation and also a tool of domination in the global governance of refugees.