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Since Boserup's consider that development affects men and women differently, the study of gender's relation to development has gathered major interest amongst scholars and international policymakers. The field has undergone major theoretical shifts, beginning with [[Women in Development]] (WID), shifting to Women and Development (WAD), and finally becoming the contemporary Gender and Development (GAD). Each of these frameworks emerged as an evolution of its predecessor, aiming to encompass a broader range of topics and [[social science]] perspectives.<ref name=":02" /> In addition to these frameworks, international financial institutions such as the [[World Bank]] and the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) have implemented policies, programs, and research regarding gender and development, contributing a [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] and smart economics approach to the study. Examples of these policies and programs include [[Structural adjustment|Structural Adjustment Programs]] (SAPs), [[microfinance]], [[outsourcing]], and [[Privatization|privatizing public enterprises]],<ref name=":02" /> all of which direct focus towards economic growth and suggest that advancement towards gender equality will follow. These approaches have been challenged by alternative perspectives such as [[Marxism]] and [[ecofeminism]], which respectively reject international capitalism<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kiely|first=Ray|date=2005|title=Capitalist Expansion and the Imperialism-Globalization Debate: Contemporary Marxist Explanations|journal=Journal of International Relations and Development|volume=8|pages=27–57|doi=10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800043|s2cid=144812030}}</ref> and the gendered exploitation of the environment via science, technology, and capitalist production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nature.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/articles/84.pdf|title=The Scientific Revolution and The Death of Nature|last=Merchant|first=Carolyn|date=2006|website=Berkeley University of California: College of Natural Resources|access-date=9 December 2018}}</ref> Marxist perspectives of development advocate for the [[redistribution of wealth]] and power in efforts to reduce global labor exploitation and class inequalities,<ref name=":02" /> while ecofeminist perspectives confront industrial practices that accompany development, including [[deforestation]], [[pollution]], [[environmental degradation]], and ecosystem destruction.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mack-Canty|first=Colleen|date=2004|title=Third-Wave Feminism and the Need to Reweave the Nature/Culture Duality|journal=National Women's Studies Association Journal|volume=16|issue=3|pages=154–179|jstor=4317085}}</ref>
'''Gender Roles in Childhood Development'''
''Introduction''
Gender identity formation in early childhood is an important aspect of child development, shaping how individuals see themselves and others in terms of gender (Martin & Ruble, 2010)<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=Carol Lynn |last2=Ruble |first2=Diane N. |date=2010 |title=Patterns of gender development |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19575615/ |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |volume=61 |pages=353–381 |doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100511 |issn=1545-2085 |pmc=3747736 |pmid=19575615}}</ref>. It encompasses the understanding and internalization of societal norms, roles, and expectations associated with a specific gender. As time progresses, there becomes more outlets for these gender roles to be influenced due to the increase outlets of new media. This developmental process begins early and is influenced by various factors, including socialization, cultural norms, and individual experiences. Understanding and addressing gender roles in childhood is essential for promoting healthy identity development and fostering gender equity (Martin & Ruble, 2010)<ref name=":0" />.
''Observations of Gender Identity Formation''
Educators have made abundant observations regarding children's expression of gender identity. From a earlier age, children absorb information about gender from various sources, including family, peers, media, and societal norms (Halim, Ruble, Tamis-LeMonda, & Shrout, 2010<ref>{{Cite web |title=APA PsycNet |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-08588-024 |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=psycnet.apa.org |language=en}}</ref>). These influences shape their perceptions and behaviors related to gender, leading them to either conform to or challenge gender stereotypes. An example could be when children may exhibit preferences for certain toys, activities, or clothing based on societal expectations associated with their perceived gender because that is what was handed to them or what was made okay from an authority figure, establishing a baseline.
''Teacher Research''
Teacher research plays a crucial role in understanding gender roles in childhood development. Educators often are able to see similarities in children's behavior that reflect societal gender norms, such as boys moving towards rough play or girls engaging in nurturing activities (Solomon, 2016<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Gender Identity and Expression in the Early Childhood Classroom: Influences on Development Within Sociocultural Contexts (Voices) |url=https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/jul2016/gender-identity |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=NAEYC |language=en}}</ref>). These observations prompt more investigation into the factors contributing to these behaviors, including the classroom materials, teacher expectations, and social interactions by examining these factors, educators can gain insights into how gender stereotypes are perpetuated and explore strategies to promote gender equity in the classroom. Since teachers have the educational background of learning about and seeing these developments, it allows them to be great researchers in this subject category.
''Influence of Materials and Teacher Expectations''
The materials provided in the classroom and the requirements established by teachers can influence children's behavior and interactions (Solomon, 2016)<ref name=":3" />. For instance, offering a diverse range of toys, books, and activities can help encourage these children to explore interests outside of traditional gender roles that are trying to be established by external sources (Martin & Ruble, 2013)<ref name=":0" />. Also, creating an environment where all children feel valued regardless of gender can help challenge stereotypes and promote ideal socialization experiences. By being aware of the materials and messages conveyed in the classroom, educators can create an environment that fosters gender diversity and empowers children to express themselves authentically (Solomon 2016<ref name=":3" />).
''Children's Desire and Search for Power''
Children actively seek/express power in interactions with others, often coming upon their understanding of gender idealistic. For example, they may use knowledge of gender norms to assert authority or control over others, such as excluding others from being able to participate in a game because of a gender stereotype like girls cannot play sports game or games that include rough play. These behaviors show children's attempts to sift through social hierarchies and establish identities within the context of expectations. By recognizing and addressing these dynamics, educators can promote more inclusive and equitable interactions among children.
''Early Acquisition of Gender Roles''
Children begin to internalize gender roles from a young age, often as early as infancy. By preschool age, many children have developed some form of understanding on gender stereotypes and expectations (King, 2021<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Tania L |last2=Scovelle |first2=Anna J |last3=Meehl |first3=Anneke |last4=Milner |first4=Allison J |last5=Priest |first5=Naomi |date=2021-06 |title=Gender stereotypes and biases in early childhood: A systematic review |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1836939121999849 |journal=Australasian Journal of Early Childhood |language=en |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=112–125 |doi=10.1177/1836939121999849 |issn=1836-9391}}</ref>). These stereotypes are established through various sources, including family, friends, media outlets, and cultural ideals, shaping children's understanding and behaviors related to gender. Education systems, parental influence, and media and store influence can contribute as many of these influences associated different colors with different genders, different influential figures, as well as different toys that are supposed to cater to a specific gender.
''Expressions and Behavior Reflecting Gender Development''
Children's expressions provide insights into their changing understanding of gender roles and relationships. However, it is necessary to be able to demonstrate processes of emotional regulation in situations where the individual needs an adjustment of the emotional response of larger intensity (Sanchis et. al 2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=APA PsycNet |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-41706-001 |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=psycnet.apa.org |language=en}}</ref>). Some children can develop stern understandings about gender stereotypes, showing a bias or discrimination towards those who do not conform to these norms. Educators play a role in counteracting these beliefs by providing opportunities for reflection and promoting empathy and respect for diverse gender identities (Martin & Ruble, 2010<ref name=":0" />).
''Educational Strategies''
In conclusion, promoting gender equity and challenging traditional gender roles in early childhood takes additional intentional educational strategies. This includes implementing multi-gendered activities, giving examples diverse role models, and offering open-ended materials for activity that encourage creativity (Martin & Ruble, 2010<ref name=":0" />). By creating inclusive learning environments that affirm and celebrate gender diversity, researchers and individuals can support children in developing healthy and positive identities that transcend narrow stereotypes and promote social justice.
==Early approaches==
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GAD departs from WID, which discussed women's subordination and lack of inclusion in discussions of international development without examining broader systems of gender relations.<ref>{{cite report|last=Razavi|first=Shahrashoub|author2=Carol Miller|title=From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse|date=1 February 1995|page=3|hdl=10419/148819|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Influenced by this work, by the late 1970s, some practitioners working in the development field questioned focusing on women in isolation.<ref name="Razavi 1995 12">{{cite report|last=Razavi|first=Shahrashoub|author2=Carol Miller|title=From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse|date=1 February 1995|page=12|hdl=10419/148819|hdl-access=free}}</ref> GAD challenged the WID focus on women as an important ‘target group’<ref>{{cite report|last=Razavi|first=Shahrashoub|author2=Carol Miller|title=From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse|date=1 February 1995|page=8|hdl=10419/148819|hdl-access=free}}</ref> and ‘untapped resources’ for development.<ref>{{cite book|last=Moser|first=Caroline|title=Gender Planning and Development. Theory, Practice and Training|year=1993|publisher=Routledge|___location=New York|isbn=978-0-203-41194-0 |page=2}}</ref> GAD marked a shift in thinking about the need to understand how women and men are socially constructed and how ‘those constructions are powerfully reinforced by the social activities that both define and are defined by them.’<ref name="Razavi 1995 12" /> GAD focuses primarily on the gendered division of labor and gender as a relation of power embedded in institutions.<ref name="Reeves 2000 8" /> Consequently, two major frameworks, ‘Gender roles’ and ‘social relations analysis’, are used in this approach.<ref>{{cite report|last=Razavi|first=Shahrashoub|author2=Carol Miller|title=From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse|date=1 February 1995|page=13|hdl=10419/148819|hdl-access=free}}</ref> 'Gender roles' focuses on the social construction of identities within the household; it also reveals the expectations from ‘maleness and femaleness’<ref name="Razavi 1995 12" /> in their relative access to resources. 'Social relations analysis' exposes the social dimensions of hierarchical power relations embedded in social institutions, as well as its determining influence on ‘the relative position of men and women in society.’<ref name="Razavi 1995 12" /> This relative positioning tends to discriminate against women.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reeves|first=Hazel|title=Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions|year=2000|___location=Brighton|isbn=1-85864-381-3|page=18}}</ref>
Unlike WID, the GAD approach is not concerned specifically with women, but with the way in which a society assigns roles, responsibilities and expectations to both women and men. GAD applies [[gender analysis]] to uncover the ways in which men and women work together, presenting results in neutral terms of economics and efficiency.{{sfn|Shifting views...}} In an attempt to create gender equality (denoting women having the same opportunities as men, including ability to participate in the public sphere),<ref>Development Assistance Committee (DAC), 1998, p.7</ref> GAD policies aim to redefine traditional gender role expectations. Women are expected to fulfill household management tasks, home-based production as well as bearing and raising children and caring for family members. In terms of children, they develop social constructions through observations at a younger age than most people think. Children tend to learn about the differences between male and female actions and objects of use in a specific culture of their environment through observation (Chung & Huang 2021<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Chung |first=Yi |last2=Huang |first2=Hsin-Hui |date=2021-12-10 |title=Cognitive-Based Interventions Break Gender Stereotypes in Kindergarten Children |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34948661/ |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=18 |issue=24 |pages=13052 |doi=10.3390/ijerph182413052 |issn=1660-4601 |pmc=8700911 |pmid=34948661}}</ref>). Around three years old, children learn about stability of gender and demonstrate stereotyping similar to adults regarding toys, clothes, activities, games, colors, and even specific personality descriptions. (2021<ref name=":4" />). By five years of age, they begin to develop identity and to possess stereotyping of personal–social attributes (2021<ref name=":4" />). At that age of their life, children think that they are more similar to their same-gender peers and are likely to compare themselves with characteristics that fit the gender stereotype. After entering primary school, children’s gender stereotyping extends to more dimensions, such as career choices, sports, motives to learn subjects which has an impact on the cognition of individuals (2021)<ref name=":4" />. The role of a wife is largely interpreted as 'the responsibilities of motherhood.'<ref>{{cite report|last=Razavi|first=Shahrashoub|author2=Carol Miller|title=From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse|date=1 February 1995|page=30|hdl=10419/148819|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Men, however, are expected to be breadwinners, associated with paid work and market production.<ref name="Reeves 2000 8" /> In the labor market, women tend to earn less than men. For instance, 'a study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found massive pay inequities in some United Kingdom's top finance companies, women received around 80 percent less performance-related pay than their male colleagues.'<ref>{{cite journal|last=Prügl|first=Elizabeth|title=''If Lehman Brothers Had Been Lehman Sisters...'': Gender and Myth in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis|journal=International Political Sociology|date=14 March 2012|volume=6|issue=1|page=25|doi=10.1111/j.1749-5687.2011.00149.x}}</ref> In response to pervasive gender inequalities, [[Fourth World Conference on Women#Beijing Platform for Action|Beijing Platform for Action]] established [[gender mainstreaming]] in 1995 as a strategy across all policy areas at all levels of governance for achieving gender equality.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015|title=Re-Thinking Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality in 2015 and Beyond|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/BSP/GENDER/PDF/BPEN.pdf|journal=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|pages=2–7}}</ref>
GAD has been largely utilized in debates regarding development but this trend is not seen in the actual practice of developmental agencies and plans for development.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Gender and the Political Economy of Development|last=Rai|first=Shirin M.|publisher=Polity|year=2002|isbn=0-7456-1490-6|___location=Malden|pages=44–83|chapter=Gender and Development}}</ref> [[Caroline Moser]] claims WID persists due to the challenging nature of GAD, but [[Shirin M. Rai]] counters this claim noting that the real issue lies in the tendency to overlap WID and GAD in policy. Therefore, it would only be possible if development agencies fully adopted GAD language exclusively.<ref name=":5" /> Caroline Moser developed the [[Moser Gender Planning Framework]] for GAD-oriented development planning in the 1980s while working at the Development Planning Unit of the [[University of London]]. Working with Caren Levy, she expanded it into a methodology for gender policy and planning.{{sfn|March|Smyth|Mukhopadhyay|1999|pp = 55}}
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