Gender and Development

GEN 214: Introduction to Development Studies

Feminist Theory:

Feminist theory is one of the major contemporary sociological theories, which analyzes the status
of women and men in society with the purpose of using that knowledge to better understand
women's lives. Feminist theorists have also started to question the differences between women,
including how race, class, ethnicity, and age intersect with gender. Feminist theory is most
concerned with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have
contributed to society.

Women in Development Approach:
The WID approach was adopted pointing to the fact that women’s contribution for development
is not recognized by the policy makers. Women are treated as beneficiaries‟ of development, not
as active agents of development”. Prior to this, however, women were brought into development
policy on very sex-specific terms. Men were seen as the heads of households and productive
agents. Women were seen as housewives, mothers and reproducers. Therefore development
efforts targeted the male population, while women were relegated to the marginal welfare sector.
Problem: The exclusion of women from development process.

Goal:
 More efficient and effective development
 Integrate women in development process
 Women left out
 Identified women as problem. Women lack education, training and credit facility
 Women must change their attributes to be integrated into development
 The straightforward goal was to increase the productivity and earnings of women.
Criticism: The major problems with the WID approach are as follows.
 WID considers women as a homogeneous group. It ignores the fact that women are not a single
uniform category. Women are differentiated by racial, economic and other factors which are not
considered important.
 WID projects the myth that women’s development can be achieved by addressing economic
issues alone. Yet in a context where women are not allowed to own property and do not have
control over resources, it is questionable how income generating projects can lead to women’s
development.
 It does not question the kind of development that is being imposed on the developing countries.
WID does not have any scope for change and transformation. It does not challenge existing
power relations in society. Hence it has remained popular.
Gender and Development Approach:
GAD, which shares elements with the empowerment approach, gained popularity in the 1980s
and attempts to address the loopholes of WID. It is rooted in post-development theory and post-
structuralism critiques in feminism.
GAD does not consider women as a uniform group. It maintains that women’s situation should
be seen in the context of the socio-economic, racial and other factors that shape a particular
society. It points to the importance of understanding the relationship between women and men
and how society influences their respective roles. Development to be meaningful will have to
take all these factors into consideration.
This approach rejects the dichotomy between the public and the private. It focuses attention on
the oppression of women in the family, within the private sphere of the household. It emphasizes
the state’s role in providing social services to promote women’s emancipation. Women are seen
as agents of change rather than passive recipients of development. In development, `gender’
came to refer to the socially constructed relations between women and men. Gender can be
defined as the socially constructed roles, expected behavioral patterns, needs, responsibilities,
rights and power differences that distinguish women from men. The concept of GAD offered a
new approach to including women in the development process. Equitable and sustainable
development with women and men as decision makers is the main focus here
The focus is on strengthening women’s legal rights. It also talks in terms of upsetting the existing
power relations in society. Gender is an issue that cuts across all economic, social and political
processes. The GAD approach attempts to identify both the practical gender needs of women as
well as the strategic gender needs that are closely related.
 Social structure and processes recreate inequalities between men and women. Therefore
disparities exists in mate and female rights, responsibilities, access to and control over
resources and voice to household, community and national level.
 Society and institutions must change ideas and practices in support of equal choice and
opportunities.
 To enhance development effectiveness.
 It emphasizes the state’s duty to provide social services in promoting women’s
emancipation.
 Women seen as agents of change rather than as passive recipients of development
assistance.
 Stresses the need for women to organize themselves for a more effective political voice.
 Focuses on strengthening women’s legal rights, including the reform of inheritance and
land laws.
 It talks in terms of upsetting the existing power relations in society between men and
women.
Most often, however, GAD is seen as just a new label for the same old women’s programs which
do not address power relations in society or women’s oppression. Though it is popular among
funding agencies and NGOs and has the potential to be different, it has become institutionalized
like WID.
Critique:
 One of the key shortcomings of the gender and development projects has been lack of
engagement with men.
Measuring gender and development:
 Gender Development Index

 Gender Empowerment Index

Gender and Development

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GEN 214: Introduction to Development Studies

Women in Development Approach:

Problem: The exclusion of women from development process.

Gender and Development Approach:

 Gender Development Index

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