GENDER APPROACHES TO
DEVELOPMENT
The ‘Women in Development’
(WID) Approach
In the early 1970s, Ester Boserup, a Danish feminist economist wrote
a book titled, ‘Women’s Role in Economic Development’. This book
highlighted the fact that women are not only users of basic services,
bearers and socializers of children and keepers of the home, but they
also represent a productive potential that was not being tapped.
The proponents of the WID Approach pointed to women’s lack of
access to the means of participating in economic life. They also
focused on the invisibility (that is, lack of recognition and data) of
women’s work.
Boserup and other women who pioneered research into women’s role
in economic development contributed to the Women in Development
(WID) approach.
The UN adopted the ‘Women in Development’ Approach in 1975 at
the first World Conference on Women held in Mexico. The
conference asked governments to create national machinery, such as
‘Ministries of Women’ to promote and oversee national efforts to
advance women and WID units.
Aim of ‘Women in Development’ Approach
The purpose of Women in Development was to integrate women into economic development by
focusing on women’s productive work in two ways:
1. Providing women money and other resources for income-
generating activities.
2. Developing appropriate technologies to lighten women’s load.
The modernizing theory underpinned the ‘WID’ Approach. It believed
that industrialization would lead to economic development.
Criticism of ‘Women in Development’
‘Women in Development Approach’ faced criticism for viewing
women as one group or in isolation and ignoring their relative
position to men.
This approach doesn’t recognize different kinds of women based
on their class or ethnic backgrounds.
Emphasis on women’s productive capacity is criticized for failing
to recognize women’s reproductive responsibilities and the
subsequent miscalculations about the responsibilities, elasticity of
women’s time and labor.
Activities are developed for women (based on the situation
analysis) without engaging men in understanding their needs or
allowing them to take part in them.
The approach focused on the integration of women without
questioning the existing development paradigms and the power
relations that have put women at a disadvantage.
Moreover, because the ‘Women in Development’ approach was
firmly grounded in modernization theory, it is assumed that
adopting western strategies would lead to the solutions to the
problems. Therefore, it didn’t recognize the contribution of
indigenous knowledge.
Furthermore, the ‘Women in Development’ approach tends to see
development as an activity of government. Thus, it viewed the
state as the solution, rather than a potential obstacle to the
advancement of women.
The ‘Women and Development’
(WAD) Approach
In the second half of the 1970s, the women from the south advocated
the ‘Women and Development (WAD) Approach’. They felt that the
‘WID’ perspective had not considered the ‘bigger’ issues of
colonialism and unequal global relationships.
Note that the women from the west (European, American,
Scandinavian) developed the WID Approach in the early 1970s.
In the second half of the 1970s, the women from the non-west (Africa,
Latin America, Asia) began to advocate that the issues that Women
in Development Perspective considered ignore the bigger issues
as described above.
WAD argues that women have always participated in the
development processes but their work has been exploited to profit
others in the global north.
The ‘Women and Development’ paradigm focused on the distinctive
roles, responsibilities, work, and knowledge of women. It called for
their acknowledgment.
WAD advocated increasing women’s share in resources, land,
employment, and income.
The ‘WAD’ perspective was more concerned about the relationship
between women and development rather than women into
development. The ‘WAD Approach’ did not focus on what
development does to women. It was only focused to make sure that
women are a part of development.
Criticism of ‘Women and Development’
The ‘Women and Development’ approach doesn’t consider the
class, racial and ethnic differences among women.
WAD focused on international relations of power and neglected
relations between genders and classes. It ignored differences
between men and women, rich and poor in the global south.
The WAD position equally downplays the role of patriarchy. It
does not adequately explain gender power relations and their
impact on development.
Furthermore, the advocacy for separate projects for women did
not produce the desired transformational impact.
The ‘Women and Development’ model has only tended to focus its
intervention strategies on the promotion of income-generating
activities. It didn’t consider the competing time demands such
strategies place on women who also have a reproductive role to
perform.
The ‘Gender and Development’
(GAD) Approach
In the 1980s, the ‘Gender and Development‘ approach was developed.
This approach is an alternative to modernizing theory. This approach
recognized women as a diverse group with interests that vary by sex,
class, age, and ethnicity.
It recognizes men and women as partners in development. Considers
both of them in economic and political relations.
The ‘Gender and Development’ approach concentrated on the
unequal relations between men and women and seeks to transform
this.
Thus apart from women, the ‘Gender and Development’ approach
focuses on the social relations between men and women.
It emphasizes the equal access of women and men to the resources,
and benefits from development.
It analyzes the contributions of women within (reproductive)
including unpaid domestic work and outside the household
(productive work). In other words, it recognizes the gender division
of labor.
GAD also calls on the state to provide social services to support
women’s domestic roles. The GAD paradigm argues that this would
help in promoting the emancipation of women.
The GAD approach recognizes women as agents of change rather
than mere recipients of development. It emphasizes the need for
women to mobilize in order to achieve a greater political impact.
Furthermore, the GAD asserts that women experience oppression
differently based on their race, class, culture, colonial history, and
position in the global economic system.
Another important area that has attracted the attention of GAD,
is Gender Law and Development (GLAD). The GLAD takes a
rights-based approach to development with the aim of strengthening
women’s legal rights and reform laws that discriminate against
women such as inheritance and land laws.
The ‘GID’ perspective took interest in pursuing the strategic gender
needs of women.
