Gender Studies (CSS): Gender and Development

 

Gender and Development

V. Gender and Development 

Gender Analysis of Development Theories:

1. Modernization Theory (to gender equality)

Modernization theory states that, modern societies are more productive, children are better educated, and the needy receive more welfare. It, further states that development in the developing countries can be attained by following the processes of development that are used by currently developed nations (Rostow, 1960). Rostow said that development is a phased process. So, he developed a five-stage model of the economic development that will be applied to all the countries specially the third world countries, 1) traditional society, 2) precondition for takeoff, 3) the takeoff process, 4) the drive to maturity, and 5) high mass consumption society.

Modernization Theory blames internal cultural factors for women’s subordination in the developing world. It is argued that some traditional cultures, and especially the religious ideas that underpin the values, norms, institutions and customs of the developing world, ascribe status on the basis of gender. In practice, this means that males are accorded patriarchal control and dominance over a range of female activities and, consequently, women have little status in developing societies.

modernisation theorists note that gender equality is generally greater in more developed countries and believe that there is relationship between modernisation, economic growth and greater gender equality. The World Bank appears to be a strong proponent of this view today.

2. World system theory

World systems theory is a response to the criticisms of Dependency Theory. World Systems Theory was developed by Immanuel Wallerstein (1979). Wallerstein accepts the fact ex-colonies are not destined to be forever trapped in a state of dependency; it is possible for them to climb the economic ladder of development, as many of them have done.

Wallerstein’s theory has four underlying principles:

a.      Dependency Theory tended to argue that countries are poor because they used to be exploited by other countries. But Wallerstein argued that however, focusing on countries (or governments/ nation states) is the wrong level of analysis – government today have declined in power, whereas Corporations are more powerful than ever. Thus, in order to understand why countries are rich or poor, we should be looking at global economic institutions and corporations rather than countries. Wallerstein believes that the MWS is characterized by structured set of relations between three types of capitalist zone:

·         The core, or developed countries: like, UK and USA

·         The semi-peripheral zone: like, South Africa or Brazil

·         Peripheral countries: like, most in the Africa

c.    Countries can be upwardly or downwardly mobile in the world system. This is one of the key differences between World System’s Theory and Frank’s Dependency Theory. Many countries, such as the BRICS nations have moved up from being peripheral countries to semi-peripheral countries.

d.   The Modern World System is dynamic – core countries are constantly evolving new ways of extracting profit from poorer countries and regions. Three examples of new ways of extracting profit from poor countries include:  a.  Unfair Trade Rule b. Western Corporation & c. Land Grabs.                   

        3.  Dependence Theory

It is a Marxist theory, developed in the 1970s as a criticism of Modernisation theory. The best-known dependency theorist is Andre Gunder Frank.

This theory suggests that underdevelopment is because west exploits labour and resources in the developing world. The west gets rich at the expense of the developing world. This is in contrast with the modernisation theory which tends to assume that lack of development is because of internal cultural and economic barriers.

Dependence theorist see history as essential to understanding the situation that we are in today, pointing out that many civilizations were wealthy before the contact with the west – such as Aztec culture in Mexico and Chinese and Indian Civilizations. It is only after colonialism that these countries become poor relative to the west. During the colonial rule the core nations of the west exploited the Satellite nations of the developing world. More recently, Neo-Colonialism keeps countries poor.

 4. Structural Functionalism 

Structural functionalism deals with how certain societies maintain internal stability and survive over time? Many prominent functionalist theorists such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Talcott Parsons, and others have tried to answer this question.

Structural functionalism is the notion that society is a complex structure composed of different elements such as, norms, customs, traditions, and institutions these all parts function together to promote solidarity and stability in the society. In the similar way, gender roles are important organ or component of society. Gender inequality applies division of labour and it contribute to the stability of social structure and relations such as: women take care of the home, while men provide for the family.

However, many argue that gender roles are discriminatory and should not be supported. In the 1960s, functionalism was criticized for being unable to account for social change, or for structural contradictions and conflict, and for ignoring systematic inequalities including race, gender, and class, which cause tension and conflict. 

Gender Approaches to development:

The debates about women and to what extent they benefit or do not benefit from development have led to the emergence of three distinctive models. These models seek to explain how development affects women and why women and men are affected by development differently. These models are discussed in some detail below:

1. Women in Development (WID)

By the 1970s it had become very clear that women were being left out of development. They were not benefiting significantly from it and in some instances their existing status and position in society was actually being made worse by development.

The WID approach argued for the integration of women into development programmes and planning. This, it was argued, was the best way to improve women’s position in society. There was, for instance, a major emphasis on income-generating projects for women as a means of integration. Welfare oriented projects dealing with small income-generating projects and activities mostly aimed at women’s reproductive role, where nutrition education and family planning were a main feature.

WID was successful in helping secure a prominent place for women’s issues at the United Nations (UN) and other international development agencies. The UN declared 1975 to 1985 the Decade for Women. One of the major achievements of the decade was the establishment of women in development structures or machineries.

Although the WID approach made demands for women’s inclusion in development, it did not call for changes in the overall social structure or economic system in which women were to be included. As such, WID concentrated narrowly on the inequalities between men and women and ignored the social, cultural, legal and economic factors that give rise to those inequalities in society. WID tended to focus on women almost exclusively and assumed that women were outside the mainstream of development.

 2. Women and Development (WAD)

As a result of criticisms of the WID approach, the Women and Development (WAD) approach arose in the latter part of the 1970s. The main focus of WAD is on the interaction between women and development processes rather than purely on strategies to integrate women into development.

Adopting a Marxist feminist approach, WAD saw both women and men as not benefiting from the global economic structures because of disadvantages due to class and the way wealth is distributed. WAD therefore argued that the integration of women into development was to their disadvantage and only made their inequality worse. WAD saw global inequalities as the main problem facing poor countries and, therefore, the citizens of those countries.

WAD assumes that the position of women will improve if and when international structures become more equitable. It focuses strongly on class, in practical project design and implementation.

 3. Gender and Development (GAD)

In the 1980s further reflections on the development experiences of women gave rise to Gender and Development (GAD).  GAD looks at the impact of development on both women and men. It seeks to ensure that both women and men participate in and benefit equally from development. It recognizes that women may be involved in development, but not necessarily benefit from it. Development, therefore, is about deep and important changes to relations dealing with gender inequality within society.

This approach also pays particular attention to the oppression of women in the family or the ‘private sphere’ of women’s lives. As a result, we have seen projects develop addressing issues such as violence against women. GAD focuses on the the division of labour between men and women in society. Provision for child-care for instance is not likely to be a priority among men planning for development but it is a crucial factor in ensuring women may take advantage of development opportunities for their benefit. GAD goes further and argues, that it is the state’s responsibility to support the social reproduction role mostly played by women of caring and nurturing of children. It therefore goes beyond seeing development as mainly economic well-being but also that the social and mental wellbeing of a person is important.

Gender Critique of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs):

IMF describes its "core responsibility" as being to "provide loans to countries experiencing balance of payments problems". In other words, IMF loans money to countries that are in high amounts of debt and find themselves unable to pay. In order for IMF to give monetary loans to a country, the government must agree to put in place and implement the policies IMF specified. Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) "typically mean significant changes in economic policies to ensure that the country's domestic and external deficits are drastically lowered or even eliminated. Failure to meet those conditions results in suspension, renegotiation, or even cancellation of the program".

The typical components of an SAP include policies that encourage price stability to control inflation and encourage savings, as well as the "macroeconomic policies of fiscal austerity" to cut state spending and subsidies.  One of the most detrimental effects of SAPs on men and women is the aspect of IMF's ‘conditionality’ requirement for fiscal austerity. Although, IMF does not necessarily specify where the budget cuts must come from, just that spending must be decreased. More often than not, countries begin the budget cuts with social programs and subsidies. They typically cut from programs such as health care, welfare programs, social security, education, and agricultural subsidies.

However, according to feminists the effects of SAPs is different on both genders – the men and women. According to them, the consequences of the loss of social programs are huge and are felt especially by women. In Tanzania, for example, seventy-one mothers died in the first thirteen weeks of 1988, when economic reforms were in force-four times the maternal death rate of previous years. The deaths were attributed to poor hospital conditions.

A cut in government funds to education has a much greater impact on girls than on boys. This occurs because of the patriarchal cultural constructs already in place regarding female education. The patriarchal society denies access to education for women. In general, women are much less likely to have access to or complete even a basic primary education. Given all of these statistics, an overall budget decrease in education forces many schools to shut down. A decrease in the number of schools decreases the already slim availability of schools for women.

Another SAP requirement is for a country to increase its exports. In a developing country, this usually means that agricultural exports must increase. This leads to an increase in cash crops, crops that are grown primarily to sell to foreign countries for cash back to the farmer. The promotion of cash crops over subsistence crops has many consequences: women's workload doubles, food and income for women and families decreases, malnutrition increases, and women's land ownership decreases.

Finally, SAPs encourage governments to allow currency devaluation and increased interest rates in order to promote foreign investment. In order to increase foreign currency, governments respond to the needs of the multinational corporation's (MNC) need for cheap labor. Also, a deregulation of the market allows foreign companies to pay what they want or have whatever working conditions they want. The combination of these two consequences creates a dangerous exploitative environment for women in the workplace. Due to the patriarchal society, "Women are rigorously socialized to work uncomplainingly, under patriarchal control, at any allotted task however dull, laborious, physically harmful or badly paid it may be" (Patel 1994). 

Globalization and Gender:

1. Impact of Globalization on gender issues

The era of globalization is a symbolic landmark in the domain of international arena. Feminist writers have provided various approaches to describe globalization debate which collectively emphasise gender as central to our understanding of the material, ideological and discursive dimensions of globalization. Feminist work on globalization addresses a number of core issues: such as, the impacts of global restructuring, notably changing working practices and new forms and conditions of employment; new and enduring forms of inequality, including inequalities in the distribution of resources both locally and globally and the domain of national, regional and international governance.

According to feminist theorists, the neoliberal issues of power and exclusion should be taken seriously in the dominant discourses of globalization. The ideology of 'value free' economic theories and the impersonal structures of states and markets have contributed in demoting women in 'privates sphere'. A transnational women's movement having normative orientation has developed around the women rights and gender issues since the United Nations (UN) Decade for Women (1976-85). In the process, women's groups are also 'challenging and thereby refashioning globalization'.

Globalization has contributed in reshaping the identity, role and change in working conditions of women. Before globalization, the State, market and domestic realm were dominated by males. Whereas during the past two decades women have entered the work force in almost all countries due to the rise of a service sector. The traditional roles of male 'breadwinner' and female 'homemaker' are on the decline due to the decline of heavy and manufacturing industry and subsequent increase in unemployment of males. This has been accompanied by rise of new employment opportunities for women in flexible and part time employment due to the expanding service sectors of economies.

In the new millennium, human rights activists are looking for a new Age of Rights. Feminists are on the forefront to reconstruct human rights in the light of the slogan 'women's rights are human rights'. Feminist theorists have argued for inclusion of women and gender in human rights. United Nations has emerged as a forum providing a platform for feminist initiatives. The feminist reformulation of human rights has been facing stiff competition with claims of human rights and gender politics in local forms. The attempts to expand the human rights project to include women's rights and issues concerning gender and sexuality are very exciting. The activists and legal theorists tried successfully to change basic tenets, discourse and aims of the International human rights movement. The main effort for making women rights as an integral part of human rights discourse was made by NGO's during late 1980s and early 1990s. The enormous rise of the agenda and politics was accentuated by feminist action at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and the Beijing United Nations Decade for Women Conference.

2. Gendered Inequalities created and promoted by the process of globalization

Globalization continues to be a very contested and controversial concept of our times. It as a complex process, is leading to complex forms of social relations and social inequalities which can be explained by the trade agreements, investment strategies, the changing forms of international division of labour, the uneven nature of economic growth and differential distribution of debt, resources and incomes across countries and social groups and, in part, by political responses at national, regional and international levels.

For the study of gender human rights, it is essential to understand globalization. According to feminists, with the advent of globalization gender inequality has become global phenomenon. Although different societies are different in many respects, but the position of women uncovers many similarities. Women live in a disadvantaged position in almost all the societies, although the nature of specific disadvantage may vary. At various places cultural practices and beliefs give rise to gender inequalities and these beliefs perpetuate the lower status accorded to women in the family, working environment and society. Besides the cultural and specific contexts, globalization has given rise to new forms of inequalities between nations, regions and social groups, marked by class, gender and ethnicity.

On the other hand, women, despite increase in employment, continue to bear the burden of responsibilities of family across the world.  Although globalization has challenged to an extent the meaning and implications of gender construction in specific societies, but gender determined lifestyles still push women to a certain category of jobs that are comparatively low paid and insecure. As a result of transformations in the global economy in the two decades, the position of such marginal workers has worsened.

It is a well-known fact that capitalism generates inequalities in outcomes. The pattern shows that the countries where economic growth has been rapid, it has not been followed by social progress in general and relative improvement of position of women in particular. In fact, women are the most poorly paid and amorphous (no unions found) work force. Due to the above characteristics, women have remained prone to up and downs of market policies in the decade of 1990 when restructuring of economies was the order of the day. In paid employment, women still earn less than men for relatively similar tasks, work for longer hours and do not match men in number of workers in informal sector. Similarly, it is a fallacious argument to make that paid employment means financial emancipation as inadequate education, and training, less access to capital, and burden of family responsibilities skew up the scenario for women. In several developing countries men have been replaced by women in sectors like export production zones as women are regarded as cheaper and passive workforce. In various countries the debt burden and restructured economic policies shaped by international processes have contributed to enhanced gender divisions within societies. Concludingly, it can be pointed out that women have had achieved some amount of success in the national and international levels, but Grave concerns are being raised about new forms of gender inequality provided by the globalization.

3. What is Impact of globalization on life of women in developing countries? And write down the impact of Global/International Political Economy (IPE) on Pakistani women.

Within the past two decades, globalization has had a huge impact on the lives of women in developing nations. Globalization may be denoted as a complex economic, political, cultural, and geographic process in which the mobility of capital, organizations, ideas, discourses, and peoples has taken a global or transnational form. The global economic institutions are seen to be privileging western culture and political norms, and present them as models of the rest of the world, while ignoring and marginalizing women’s indigenous movements in the Global South. Recent feminist’s philosophers contend that neo-liberalism prioritizes on economic growth, efficiency, and profit making over other values such as the promotion of economic justice and enhancing democracy and good governance.

According to a United Nations Development Fund for Women’s report (1997), over the past two decades the process of globalization has contributed to widening inequality within and among countries, coupled with economic and social collapse in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and countries in transition like in Eastern Europe. Globalization is tied to momentous political changes of the present era such as the rise of identity politics, transnational civil society, and new forms of governance and universalization of human rights. Concerning economic inequalities, women are seen to be exploited by Transnational Corporations with the collusion of their governments.  Trade liberalization policies have led to the decline of small-scale and subsistence farming in developing and less developed countries because western countries, sell heavily subsidized agricultural products to the developing or less developed countries. As a result, many female farmers who have been pushed of their land have sought employment in export processing zones, at lower wages than their male counterparts in their countries.

The exploitation of women in this sector denies women workers their rights to representation, unionization and compensation. Regarding Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs), many poor countries have been forced to undertake as conditions of borrowing money from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In this regard, SAPs has had a negative effect on women mainly in developing countries, where the government’s borrowing money from SAPs have rescheduled their debt by reducing for example, publicly-funded health services, education and child care, which have contributed to maternal mortality and the introduction of school fees has made education unavailable to the poorer children, especially girls in developing countries.

Globalization has created labour demand patterns which inherently favour short-term, temporary employment. As a result, a short-term contracted labour migration appears to be on the rise with distinct gender differentiated consequences. Migrant women from developing countries are increasingly victims of trafficking, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Due to the lack of effective international mechanisms that regulate and protect the rights of labour moving across national borders both legal and illegal migrants are vulnerable to human rights abuses.

At policy level, the impact of globalization on women and gender relations continues to be neglected nationally and internationally. Yet more remains to be done to integrate gender equality dimensions in their normative, policy and operational work so as to ensure the continuing leadership of the system in promoting gender equality, development and peace within the context of globalization.

The dilemmas confronting feminist activists who participate in the global feminist movement, which where mass-based revolutionary movements have been largely replaced by Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) funded by some countries of the Global North. As a result, the women depending on NGO-led projects run the danger of pushing the agenda of the NGOs instead of promoting global gender justice. In conclusion, global strategies involving a wide range of both public and private actors are required to address issues of globalisation and its impact on women in developing countries.

Impact of Global/International Political Economy (IPE) on Pakistani women:

Women have remained marginalized in economics, international relations (IR), and international political economy (IPE). In economics and political economy, feminists have exposed how men dominate the practice of and knowledge production about ‘economics’; how women’s domestic, reproductive and caring labour is deemed marginal to (male-defined) production and analyses of it; how orthodox models and methods presuppose male-dominated activities (paid work, the formal economy) and masculinised characteristics (autonomous, objective, rational, instrumental, competitive). As a consequence, ‘women’s work’ and feminised qualities – in whatever sphere – are devalued: deemed ‘economically’ irrelevant, characterised as subjective, ‘natural’ and ‘unskilled’, and typically unpaid.