Gender and development: Difference between revisions

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'''Gender and development''' is an interdisciplinary field of research and applied study that implements a [[Feminism|feminist]] approach to understanding and addressing the disparate impact that [[economic development]] and [[globalization]] have on people based upon their ___location, gender, class background, and other socio-political identities. A strictly economic approach to development views a country's development in quantitative terms such as job creation, inflation control, and high employment – all of which aim to improve the ‘economic wellbeing’ of a country and the subsequent quality of life for its people.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.iedconline.org/clientuploads/Downloads/IEDC_ED_Reference_Guide.pdf|title=The International Economic Development Council's Economic Development Reference Guide|website=International Economic Development Council|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=18 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118034420/http://www.iedconline.org/clientuploads/Downloads/IEDC_ED_Reference_Guide.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In terms of economic development, quality of life is defined as access to necessary rights and resources including but not limited to quality education, medical facilities, affordable housing, clean environments, and low crime rate.<ref name=":2" /> Gender and development considers many of these same factors; however, gender and development emphasizes efforts towards understanding how multifaceted these issues are in the entangled context of culture, government, and globalization. Accounting for this need, gender and development implements [[Ethnography|ethnographic]] research, research that studies a specific culture or group of people by physically immersing the researcher into the environment and daily routine of those being studied,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sangasubana|first=Nisaratana|date=11 March 2011|title=How to Conduct Ethnographic Research|url=https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=tqr|journal=The Qualitative Report|volume=16|pages=3–4|via=ProQuest}}</ref> in order to comprehensively understand ''how'' development policy and practices affect the everyday life of targeted groups or areas.

EIGE provides various publications including a library, glossary, and thesaurus. One of the reports available on their website is "Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions," which defines gender analysis as the systematic collection and examination of information on gender differences and social relationships in order to recognize, comprehend, and correct gender-based inequalities. Gender analysis is a useful tool for development planners and is critical for gender mainstreaming efforts. The methodology and components of gender analysis are determined by how gender issues are perceived in the institution in question. Different approaches to gender analysis include the Gender Roles or Harvard framework, which focuses on describing the roles of men and women and their access to resources. On the other hand, the Social Relations approach seeks to uncover gendered power relations that maintain inequalities by examining data at various levels, including community, market, and state institutions, and considering other aspects of social differentiation such as class, race, and ethnicity. While the Social Relations approach is more comprehensive, it is challenging to implement in operational work.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions (Library resource) |url=https://eige.europa.eu/library/resource/genport.1349 |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=European Institute for Gender Equality |language=en}}</ref>

The history of this field dates back to the 1950s, when studies of economic development first brought women into its discourse,<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Gender Planning and Development. Theory, Practice and Training|last=Moser|first=Caroline|publisher=Routledge|year=1993|isbn=978-0-203-41194-0|___location=New York|page=3}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{cite book|title=Gender, development, and globalization : economics as if all people mattered|last=Lourdes|first=Benería|others=Berik, Günseli,, Floro, Maria|isbn=9780415537483|edition= Second|___location=New York|oclc=903247621|date = 2014-11-11}}</ref> focusing on women only as subjects of welfare policies – notably those centered on [[Aid#Emergency aid|food aid]] and [[family planning]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPRH/Resources/GlobalFamilyPlanningRevolution.pdf|title=The Global Family Planning Revolution|last1=Robinson|first1=Warren C.|last2=Ross|first2=John A.|date=2007|website=World Bank|access-date=10 November 2018}}</ref> The focus of women in development increased throughout the decade, and by 1962, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] called for the [[United Nations Commission on the Status of Women|Commission on the Status of Women]] to collaborate with the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary General]] and a number of other UN sectors to develop a longstanding program dedicated to women's advancement in developing countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNGA/1962/36.pdf|title=United Nations Assistance for the Advancement of Women in Developing Countries [1962]|date=1962|website=World Legal Information Institute|access-date=10 November 2018}}</ref> A decade later, feminist economist [[Ester Boserup]]’s pioneering book ''Women’s Role in Economic Development'' (1970) was published, radically shifting perspectives of development and contributing to the birth of what eventually became the gender and development field.<ref name=":02" />