Social Science Assignment 12
DUBSTER
FSUWDCGenderDevelopmentandDisasters.pptxWeek 12: Gender, Development and Disasters
Key Terms
Economic and Social Development
Women in Development (WID)
Women and Development (WAD)
Gender and Development (GAD)
Women, Culture and Development (WCD)
Gender Efficiency Approach
Smart Economics
Disaster Risk Development
Disaster Proof Development
Women, Disasters and Conflict
2
Introduction
Gender inequalities increase women’s and girls’ vulnerability
Gender, vulnerability, risk, and humanitarianism are important to development and disaster
The need to disaster proof development is the need to engender both development and disaster response
Women are now central to both disaster response and development
Women, Disasters and Conflict
3
What is Development?
Economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and objectives
Modernization, westernization and industrialization are other terms often used to refer to economic development
Historically, economic development policies focused on industrialization and infrastructure, but since the 1960s, they have increasingly focused on poverty reduction
Women, Disasters and Conflict
4
Disaster and Development
There is a relationship between disaster and development
Nations increase their capacities and decrease their vulnerabilities through development
Development planning is used by governments to draft plans to guide economic and social development
Women, Disasters and Conflict
5
Women and Development
Ester Boserup’s pioneering Women's Role in Economic Development was a turning point in bringing greater attention to the importance of women's role in agricultural economies and the lack of development projects to support their efforts
Boserup wrote that "in the vast and ever-growing literature on economic development, reflections on the particular problems of women are few and far between”
She showed that women often did more than half the agricultural work, in one case as much as 80%, and that they also played an important role in trade
Women, Disasters and Conflict
6
Women and Development-Major Theories
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 theories:
It began with Women in Development (WID)
Then the major theory shifted to Women and Development (WAD)
And finally becoming the contemporary theory is Gender and Development (GAD)
Women, Disasters and Conflict
7
Women in Development (WID)
WID aims to integrate women into the global economies by improving their status and assisting in total development
In many countries, women were severely underemployed
According to the 1971 census in India, women constituted 48.2% of the population but only 13% of economic activity
Women were excluded from many types of formal job, so 94% of the female workforce was engaged in the unorganized sector employed in agriculture, agro-forestry, fishery, handicrafts, etc.
With growing awareness of women's issues, in the 1970s development planners began to try to integrate women better into their projects to make them more productive
The WID approach initially accepted existing social structures in the recipient country and looked at how to better integrate women into existing development initiatives. The straightforward goal was to increase the productivity and earnings of women
Women, Disasters and Conflict
8
Criticism of WID
The WID approach have been criticized by some
Others think that WID does not go far enough
The latter group says it ignores the larger social processes that affect women's lives and their reproductive roles
The approach does not address the root causes of gender inequalities
Women, Disasters and Conflict
9
Women and Development (WAD)
Introduced in 1970s, WAD is less known than WID and GAD
Previous thinking held that development was a vehicle to advance women
But new ideas suggested that development was only made possible by the involvement of women, and rather than being simply passive recipients of development aid, women should be actively involved in development projects.
WAD took this thinking a step further and suggested that women have always been an integral part of development, and did not suddenly show up in the 1970s
The WAD approach suggests that there be women-only development projects that were theorized to remove women from the patriarchal hegemony that would exist if women participated in development alongside men in a patriarchal culture, though this concept has been heavily debated by theorists in the field
WAD is different from WID. Rather than focus specifically on women's relationship to development, WAD focuses on the relationship between patriarchy and capitalism
Women, Disasters and Conflict
10
Criticism of WAD
WAD ignores intersectionality-tending to view women as a class, and pay little attention to the differences among women including race and ethnicity
While an improvement on WID, WAD fails to fully consider the relationships between patriarchy, modes of production, and the marginalization of women
It also presumes that the position of women will improve when international conditions become more equitable
WAD has been criticized for its focus mainly on the “productive” side of women's work, while ignoring the “reproductive” side of women's work and lives. Therefore, intervention strategies have tended to concentrate on income-generating activities without taking into account the time burdens that such strategies place on women
Women, Disasters and Conflict
11
Gender and Development (GAD)
The Gender and Development (GAD) approach in the 1980s attempted to redress the problem
It used a gender analysis to develop a broader view
We know that gender includes both men and women, as well as other genders
GAD is more concerned with relationships, the way in which men and women participate in development processes, rather than strictly focusing on women's issues like WID
It proposed more emphasis on gender relations rather than seeing women's issues in isolation
Women, Disasters and Conflict
12
Criticism of GAD
GAD has been criticized for highlighting the social differences between men and women while neglecting the bonds between them and the potential for changes in roles
Another criticism is that GAD does not analyze social relations and so may not explain how these relations can undermine programs directed at women
It also does not uncover the types of trade-offs that women are prepared to make for the sake of achieving their ideals of marriage or motherhood
Another criticism is that while GAD is theoretically difference from WID, but in practice, programs seem to have elements of both
While many development agencies are now support a gender approach, in reality, tin their work they still use a WID approach
Specifically, the language of GAD has been incorporated into WID programs. There is a slippage in reality where gender mainstreaming is often based in a single normative perspective as synonymous to women. Development agencies still advance gender transformation to mean economic betterment for women.
GAD has also been criticized for not enough attention to culture
Women, Disasters and Conflict
13
Women, Culture and Development (WCD)
Another framework has been offered instead of GAD to address the criticism that GAD does not pay enough attention to culture: Women, Culture and Development (WCD)
This framework, unlike GAD, would not look at women as victims
It would rather evaluate the Third World life of women through the context of the language and practice of gender, the Global South and culture
Women, Disasters and Conflict
14
Gender Development Programs
International financial institutions like the World Bank an International Monetary Fund (IMF) as have implemented policies, programs, and research regarding gender and development
Examples of these policies and programs include Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP), microfinance outsourcing and privatizing public enterprises
These programs direct focus towards economic growth and suggest that advancement towards gender equality will follow
Women, Disasters and Conflict
15
Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP)
Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) consist of loans (structural adjustment loans; SALs) provided by the (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises
Their purpose is to adjust the country's economic structure, improve international competitiveness, and restore its balance of payment
Structural adjustment loans are mainly distributed to developing countries located primarily in East and South Asia, Latin America, and Africa. including Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Zimbabwe and other countries
As of 2018, India has been the largest recipient of structural adjustment program loans since 1990
Such loans cannot be spent on health, development or education programs
SALs have three main goals: increasing economic growth, correcting balance of payments deficits, and alleviating poverty
Women, Disasters and Conflict
16
Criticism of SAPs
There are many examples of structural adjustments failing
In Africa, instead of making economies grow fast, structural adjustment actually had a contractive impact in most countries
Economic growth in African countries in the 1980s and 1990s fell below the rates of previous decade
Agriculture suffered as state support was radically withdrawn
After independence of African countries in the 1960s, industrialization had begun in some places, but it was now wiped out
Women, Disasters and Conflict
17
Microfinance
Microfinance is a financial service that targets individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services
Microfinance includes microcredit-small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; micro-insurance and payment systems
Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient
Women, Disasters and Conflict
18
Criticism of Microfinance
Proponents of microfinance often claim that such access will help poor people out of poverty
For many, microfinance is a way to promote economic development, employment and growth through the support of micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses
For others it is a way for the poor to manage their finances more effectively and take advantage of economic opportunities while managing the risks
Critics often point to some of the ills of micro-credit that can create indebtedness
Women, Disasters and Conflict
19
GDP per capita
GDP per capita-growing development population
GDP per capita is gross domestic product divided by mid year population
GDP is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidizes not included in the value of the products
It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources
Women, Disasters and Conflict
20
Modern Transportation
Economists have argued that the existence of modern transportation is a significant indicator of a country's economic advancement
This includes high speed rail
Examples are the Basic Rail Transportation Infrastructure Index or BRTI Index and related models such as the (Modified) Rail Transportation Infrastructure Index (RTI)
Women, Disasters and Conflict
21
Gender Indices
In an effort to create an indicator that would help measure gender equality, the UN has created two measures:
The Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)
These indicators were first introduced in the 1995 in a UNDP Human Development Report
Women, Disasters and Conflict
22
GEM and GDI
The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) focuses on aggregating various indicators that focus on capturing the economic, political, and professional gains made by women
The GEM is composed of three variables: income earning power, share in professional and managerial jobs, and share of parliamentary seats
The Gender Development (GDI) measures the gender gap in human development achievements
It takes disparity between men and women into account in through three variables, health, knowledge, and living standards
Women, Disasters and Conflict
23
Disaster Risk Development (DRR)
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) involves reducing disaster risks through efforts to analyze and reduce their causes
Gender-responsive disaster risk reduction refers to analyzing and taking into account the needs, opportunities, roles and relationships of women, men, boys and girls formed by gender norms within a given culture and society
DDR requires specific attention to women’s rights and gender equality as part of a proactive and people-centered approach to reducing risks and vulnerabilities
Women, Disasters and Conflict
24
Disaster, Development and Gender mainstreaming
Three approaches should be adopted for gender to be effectively mainstreamed within disaster and development (Walby, 2005)
The inclusion approach that entails the equal treatment of women(and men) in interactions with them, including in development projects and programs
The participatory approach that suggests listening to and including women in planning and policy processes and incorporating their perspectives into the products of these processes
The gendered approach which analyzes gendered power relations and how these are affected by particular work in particular contexts in order to address gender imbalances
Women, Disasters and Conflict
25
Women, Poverty and Development
Investing in women is critical for poverty reduction
It speeds economic development by raising productivity and promoting the more efficient use of resources
It produces significant social returns, improving child survival and reducing fertility
It has considerable inter-generational pay-offs Added to the economic messaging came statements
Women, Disasters and Conflict
26
Smart Economics
Smart economics rationalizes ‘investing’ in women and girls for more effective development outcomes (Chant 2012)
The thinking behind smart economics extends back until at least the ‘lost decade’ of the 1980s, when it became eminently obvious that women, individually and collectively, were acting as a buffer to the fall-out of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs)
The effects of SAPs included rising male un- and under-employment, falling purchasing power, and scaled-down public-sector service provision
As Diane Elson and others noted at the time, women were expected under SAPs to substitute for the failure of state institutions to provide health, education, and other services for their citizens (Elson 1991), and to make ends meet in an era of high and increasing unemployment
Women, Disasters and Conflict
27
Gender equality as smart economics
The origins of this idea date from the 1970s, when the term WID was coined
This approach was based on the argument that the recent economic development process was not equally benefiting men and women
Instead the current approach contributed to the decline of women’s rights and status in society
The WID movement advocated for gender equality; however, its central and more popular discourse was based on economic efficiency arguments, also known as the gender efficiency approach
Women, Disasters and Conflict
28
The Gender Efficiency Approach
WID promoted gender equality; however, its central purpose was based on the concept of “gender efficiency approach”
This approach was based on the idea that when women have access to education, jobs, credits, and assets, they are able to contribute substantially to society’s economic growth and therefore its development process
Achieving gender equality is in society’s best interest. This is smart economics
Women, Disasters and Conflict
29
