GENDER and

DEVELOPMENT

GAD ADVOCACY
PRINCIPLES

GAD is not war of the sexes

It is not role reversal but relationships

GAD is not anti-male

Gender issues affect women and

men differently

It is not pitting women against men

Women

Men

Gender / Culture
Childbearing

Cook

Alert

Rough

Breastfeeding

Delicate

Muscular

Task-oriented

Homemaker

Person-oriented

Breadwinner Action

Weak

Passive

Strong

Emotional

Rational

Knowledge

Feminine

Masculine

Birth, Sex/Nature, Hormones

Estrogen/Progesterone

Androgen/testosterone

Chromosomes
XX

XY
Reproductive Organs

Vagina, etc.

Penis, etc.

GENDER VS. SEX

SEX refers to the
- genetic characteristic
- physical identity of the person
GENDER refers to the
- socially learned behaviors
- expectations associated with the two
sexes
Thus
SEX is what you are born with;
GENDER is what happens afterwards.

Gender vs. Sex

Gender and sex, although used interchangeably in normal

discourse have different meanings. The following are the major
differences:
Gender

Sex

* Gender characteristics are not universal

* Sex characteristics are universal

* Uses terms like masculine and feminine

* Uses terms like male and female

* Socially and culturally constructed

* Biologically constructed

* Gender characteristics are marketed by

inequality

* Sex characteristics are equally valued

and equally important

* Limited

* Limited

* Interchangeable

* Fixed

* Acquired

* Natural

* Time and Place bound

* Regardless of the time and place

2. Attributes of sex:
Maleness
Femaleness
Attributes of Gender:
Masculinity
Femininity
Question?
Are women born feminine?
Are men born masculine?
3. A majority of behavioral scientists agree
that: Gender roles are not inborn; they
are learned.

GENDER ROLES AND DIVISION OF LABOR

Allocation of particular tasks to people
on the basis of their gender
Productive

Role this involves the

production of goods and services in exchange
for wages or salaries. This is viewed as mens
sphere.

Reproductive

Role child bearing,

nurturing and maintenance of the house hold.
No economic value. This is considered as
womens sphere.

Community

Work Voluntary work done

outside the reproductive sphere. Includes
activities that contribute to the well being of
the community.

Productive Role

Income

earning tasks

Reproductive Role

Care and
maintenance of the
household and
members

Community Role
Activities

done by women to
maintain community
where they belong

Male gender roles are associated with

appropriate concepts of masculinity
and traits such as:
- dominance
- assertiveness
- instrumentality

Female gender roles are associated with

appropriate concepts of femininity and
traits such as:
- submissiveness
- modesty
- nurturance

Gender roles have three aspects:

a. Position within the social structure/
hierarchy indicating where women and
men belong or expected to belong;
b. Behaviors prescribed for women and
men;
c. Proper relationship between roles.

Gender roles, expectations and

perceptions box women and men into
situations that constrain their capacity
to do and capacity to be, hindering, in
turn, their potentials to attain a full and
satisfying life.

Gender roles highly resistant to change.

WHY?
Due to continuous exposure and
reinforcement of gender differentiation.

GENDER ROLE SOCIALIZATION

FAMILY
SCHOOL
CHURCH
MEDIA
LANGUAGE
GOVERNMENT

However, the good news is:

Gender roles do
change

Gender and Development Goal

To increase opportunities for women to . . .
PARTICIPATE IN

CONTRIBUTE TO

BENEFIT FROM

The development of their societies and economies

How did GAD evolve?

WID (Women in Development )

Emerged in early 70s after Ester Boserups Womens Role

in Economic Development.

Goal is to meet practical needs of women i.e. improved

income, better health, literacy

Focused on womens integration in development work ;

equal participation in education, employment and other
spheres of society

Too much emphasis on income generating project

WAD (Women and

Development )

late

70s

Goal is women have always been part of development

although they have remained unrecognized

Focused on relationship between women and

development process rather on strategies for
integration
of women in development

Productive and income-generating projects at the

expense of reproductive work

Critique on WID

Has intensified womens workload

Has overlooked womens reproductive roles

Not critical of existing structures

Has not examined the roots of womens low status

Has maintained traditional patterns of sexual division of

labor ( gender role stereotyping)

Critique on WAD

Has little analytical attention to social relations of gender

within classes

As in WID, has intensified womens workload

Tasks performed by women in household and social

reproduction has no economic value

GAD (Gender and Development)

late 80s as alternative to WID and WAD

Gender equality and women empowerment are the GAD
goals

Focus on social construction of gender and on gender

relations as the root of womens low status

Womens contribution to society is seen in the context of

their work inside and outside the household.

of

Sees women as change agents not as passive recipients

development

Thank you!!!