Women and Development

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how women have been traditionally excluded from models of economic development and how their roles were always secondary, as a means of facilitating men's contributions to the economy. It discusses how, as many economies began to industrialize, many theorists began to explore the link between development and women's issues. It reviews four different approaches, Women in Development (WID), that hold that poverty and oppression were caused by the lack of access of marginalized groups in the economy, Women and Development (WAD), which believes that women were always part of the economy, Gender and Development (GAD), which believes that the goal should be to recruit both men and women as full participants in decision-making and The Women, Environment and Development (WED) approach that looks at the link between the oppression of women and the degradation of the environment. These different approaches are outlined and reviewed as well as compared and contrasted. The paper also discusses the topics of structural adjustment programs and women and gender relations in the household.

From the Paper:

"For the most part, the division of labor in the household has remained constant. Women traditionally worked in the domestic sphere. Married women continue to perform all or most of the household tasks, even when they are working. The reasons for this continued division appear to be cultural. For example, even men who help out in the home may still be reluctant to help in tasks that have been labeled as feminine or non-masculine, such as laundry and cooking."

More papers on Women and Development:

• Essay # 84751 : "Women in Development"
• Analytical Essay # 132139 : "Gender and Development"
• Analytical Essay # 130463 : "Black Women and Self Actualization"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: