Jimma University, College of Agriculture and

Veterinary Medicine

Department of Agricultural Economics & Extension

Gender and Youth in Development

(RDAE 2052)

By
Department of Agricultural Economics
and Extension
Sept, 2016

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 Table of Contents
Introduction to Gender Analysis..........................................................................................2
1.1. The difference between Gender and Sex..............................................................2
1.2. Gender related concepts and terminologies..........................................................5
1.3. Gender-related terminology................................................................................12
CHAPTER-TWO...............................................................................................................15
Theoretical Analysis of Gender.........................................................................................15
2.1. Introduction.........................................................................................................15
2.2. Functionalist Theory (Structural Functionalist Perspective)..............................17
2.3. Symbolic-interactionists Perspective..................................................................22
2.4. Symbolic Interaction...........................................................................................22
CHAPTER THREE...........................................................................................................27
Gender and Development Movements..............................................................................27
3.1. Introduction.........................................................................................................27
3.2. Gender Needs......................................................................................................28
3.3. Gender roles........................................................................................................29
3.4. Policy Approaches to Gender Development.......................................................30
3.5. Issues of concern for women..............................................................................38
3.6. Women and men in development........................................................................43
3.7. Barriers to women involvement in development................................................44
CHAPTER-FOUR.............................................................................................................45
Youth and development.....................................................................................................45
4.1. Definition of youth..............................................................................................45
4.2. Common problems faced by rural youth.............................................................45
4.3. Organization of youth.........................................................................................45
4.4. Developing programs for the rural youth............................................................46

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 CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Gender Analysis

1.1. The difference between Gender and Sex

Gender vs Sex

Sociologists make a distinction between gender and sex. Gender is the perceived or

projected component of human sexuality while sex is the biological or genetic
component.

Differentiating gender from sex allows social scientists to study influences

on sexuality without confusing the social and psychological aspects with the biological
and genetic aspects. As discussed below, gender is a social construction. If a social
scientist were to continually talk about the social construction of sex, which biologists
understand to be a genetic trait, this could lead to confusion.

Sex

Many species of living things are divided into two or more categories called sexes. These
refer to complementary groups that combine genetic material in order to reproduce, a
process called sexual reproduction. Typically, a species will have two
sexes: male and female. The female sex is defined as the one which produces the
larger gamete (i.e., reproductive cell) and which bears the offspring. The categories of
sex are, therefore, reflective of the reproductive functions that an individual is capable of
performing at some point during its life cycle, and not of the mating types, which
genetically can be more than two.

In mammals (and many other species) sex is determined by the sex chromosomes, called
X and Y. For mammals, males typically have one of each (XY), while females typically
have two X chromosomes (XX). All individuals have at least one X chromosome, the Y
chromosome is generally shorter than the X chromosome with which it is paired, and is
absent in some species. In humans, sex is conventionally perceived as a dichotomous
state or identity for most biological purposes, such that a person can only be female or
male.

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Gender

Gender is the socially projected component of human sexuality. Perhaps the best way to
understand gender is to understand it as a process of social presentation. Because gender
roles are delineated by behavioral expectations and norms, once individuals know those
expectations and norms, the individual can adopt behaviors that project the gender he/she
wishes to portray. One can think of gender like a role in a theatrical play - there are
specific behaviors and norms associated with genders just like there are lines and
movements associated with each character in a play. Adopting the behaviors and norms
of a gender leads to the perception that someone belongs in that gender category. Gender
roles are, unlike sex, mutable, meaning they can change. Gender is not, however, as
simple as just choosing a role to play but is also influenced by parents, peers, culture, and
society.

Some examples may help illustrate the distinction between gender and sex. Parents may
socialize a biological boy (XY chromosomes) into a traditional masculine role, which
includes traditional gender characteristics like: independence, courage, and
aggressiveness. Likewise, parents may socialize a biological female (XX chromosomes)
into the traditional feminine role, including characteristics like: submissiveness,
emotionality, and empathy. Assuming both children feel like their gender roles fit
their identities, the masculine boy and feminine girl will behave in ways that reflect their
genders. For instance, the boy may play with toy soldiers and join athletic teams. The
girl, on the other hand, may play with dolls and bond with other girls in smaller groups.

However, gender is fluid and can change. This can be seen by continuing the above
example. It is possible for the boy to decide later in life that he no longer wishes to
portray himself as traditionally masculine. The boy may adopt some traditionally
feminine characteristics and become androgynous, or may adopt a feminine personality
altogether. Either change would involve adopting the behaviors and norms that go along
with the intended gender. The same is true for the girl, who may adopt masculine
characteristics.

Gender Discordance

A significant proportion of the human population does not correspond exclusively to

either female or male genders or sexes. When gender identity and biological sex conflict,
the result is sex discordance. Some discordance is purely biological, such as when the sex

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of the chromosomes (genetic sex) does not match the sex of the external genitalia
(anatomic sex).

Discordances between the biological (sex) and psychosocial (gender) components of

gender, such as when the gender does not match the anatomic sex, are even more
common but less well understood. The vast majority of people who are discordant in
some aspect of psyche or behavior do not have any detectable biological intersex
condition. Human societies respond to, or accommodate, these behavioral and
psychological discordances in many different ways, ranging from suppression and denial
of difference to acknowledging various forms of third sex.

Some societies identify youths with typical behavioral characteristics and, instead of
giving them corrective therapy or punishing them, socialize them in such a way that their
individual characteristics let them provide a useful function for the society in a
recognized and respected role.

Gender discordance leads to the understanding that what we traditionally understand to

be feminine and masculine characteristics are social (and cultural) constructions. Some
people have sought to define their sexuality and sexual identity in non-popular terms in
the belief that the simple division of all humans into males and females does not fit their
individual conditions.

Sex & Gender

‘Sex’ refers to the biological characteristics that categorize someone as either female or
male; whereas ‘gender’ refers to the socially determined ideas and practices of what it is
to be female or male whilst often used interchangeably, ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are in fact
distinct terms.

‘Sex’: a person’s sex is biologically determined as female or male according to certain

identifiable physical features which are fixed. Women’s marginalization has often been
seen as ‘natural’ and a fact of their biology. However these biological differences cannot
explain why women have less access to power and lower status than men. To understand
and challenge the cultural value placed on someone’s biological sex, and unequal power
hierarchies, we need the relational concept of ‘gender’.

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‘Gender’: Gender refers to behavioral differences between males and females that are
culturally based and socially learned (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). Henslin
(1999) argues that in every society, the primary division between people is based on
gender. It is how a person’s biology is culturally valued and interpreted into locally
accepted ideas of what it is to be a woman or man. ‘Gender’ and the hierarchical power
relations between women and men based on this are socially constructed, and not derived
directly from biology. Gender identities and associated expectations of roles and
responsibilities are therefore changeable between and within cultures. Gendered power
relations permeate social institutions so that gender is never absent.

The value of the distinction between the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ has been challenged
more recently as ‘sex’ has also been seen to be socially constructed (Baden and Goetz,
1998).

Use of the term gender, rather than sex, signals an awareness of the cultural and
geographic specificity of gender identities, roles and relations. It also recognizes gender
inequality as the outcome of social processes, which can be challenged, rather than as a
biological given. For this reason, its use can generate considerable opposition,
particularly from conservative religious and cultural groups but also in mainstream
development institutions.

1.2. Gender related concepts and terminologies

In the table as shown below, commonly peoples are using different wordings to mention
the characteristics of females and males traditionally.
Traditional gender characteristics
Feminine characteristics Masculine characteristics
Submissive Dominant
Dependent Independent
Emotional Rational
Receptive Assertive
Intuitive Analytical
Timid Brave
Passive Active
Sensitive Insensitive

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Key concepts

Androcentric: Male centered and a masculine point of view.

Androcentrism: A term developed by feminist theorists to describe the dominant

worldview that, until recently, mostly excluded the experiences of women from its
analyses.

Biological determinism: A view on which it is argued that human social behavior is the
result of factors inherent to the biological makeup of human beings. This is often
contrasted with explanations of human behavior based on social or socio psychological
factors.

Class: A social or economic division in society. Theorists sometimes differentiate

between economic class (based on access to economic resources or material goods) and
social class (based on status, prestige, family background, and other factors). One’s class
is defined largely by one’s relationship to the means of production; the capitalist class
owns the means of production.

Comprador class: Elites in the South who collaborate with the dominant capitalist class
in the North and ensure the continued subordination of the South to the North.

Egalitarianism: Relations based on the more or less equal participation of all classes in
the production of basic necessities, as well as in their distribution or exchange and in their
consumption.

Equal opportunity: Conditions that must be created so that women have the same options
as men and the same life chances.

Essentialism: Lumping a variety of categories into one, ignoring differences, and

emphasizing similarities, despite little evidence for such a generalization.

Ethnicity: Group associations based on any combination of common characteristics,

including culture, language, religion, phenotype, geographic region, and ancestry. It is

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recognized that historical and social factors shape the formation of ethnic groups and
bestow on them a distinct identity.

Ethnocentric: Believing that one’s own race, nation, or culture is superior to all others.

Feminist: An individual who is aware of the oppression, exploitation, or subordination of

women within society and who consciously acts to change and transform this situation.

Fordism: it describes the post-World War II regime of accumulation based on mass

production of standardized products, coupled with growth of mass consumption.

Gender barriers: Obstacles to equality that may exist in the laws, norms, and practices of
a society and can be identified and removed.

Gender relations: A society’s socially constructed relations between women and men.

Feminism: Feminism is both the belief that social equality should exist between the sexes
and the social movement aimed at achieving that goal.  Feminism is based on the
philosophy that biology is not destiny.

Globalization: The idea that the world economy has reached a new level of integration.
Heightened capital mobility with globalization means that companies operate worldwide,
creating a “global assembly line”; goods, capital, and, to a lesser extent, people move
around the globe.

Identity: A cluster of ideas and language or discourse that defines the way most people
behave and think about a subject and that increasingly forms the bases of major cleavages
among people.

Labeling; Reducing the complex experiences of an individual or group to one dimension,

thereby controlling them more effectively and making it more difficult for them to gain
credibility for their own struggles.

Metro pole; The capitalist countries that dominate the world economy, mostly found in
Europe and North America in the 1960s and 1970s. See also periphery.

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Mode of production: The organization of wealth creation in a society, including the
technical “means of production” and the “relations of production,” which determine who
controls production and owns the wealth produced.

Multiple jeopardizes; Racism, sexism, and classism simultaneously experienced by

women from marginalized groups, especially visible minorities. This simultaneous
experience not only compounds these oppressions but reconstitutes them in specific
ways.

Patriarchy; A system of male domination that is widespread but historically specific and
can vary over time and context. Originally, this term was used to describe societies
characterized by “the rule of the father,” that is, the power of the husband or father over
his wives, children, and property. The term has now come to refer to the overall systemic
character of oppressive and exploitative relations affecting women. Patriarchy refers to a
society or group in which men have power over women.

Origins of Patriarchy: Henslin (2008:262) contends that patriarchy is tied to the "social
consequences of reproduction."  He notes that historically, life was short which required
the production of many babies.  This fact had serious consequences for women because
only women could become pregnant, carry a child, give birth and nurse children.  
Henslin (2008:262) suggests that because women of child care duties, women "assumed
tasks associated with home and child care."

Matriarchy: Social dominance by women and a form of social organization in which

females dominate males.

Periphery; The Third World countries, characterized by underdeveloped economies and

dependent relations with the metro pole. 

Positivism: A philosophical doctrine contending that sense perception is the only

admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought. This doctrine became the
basis of a hierarchy of knowledge emphasizing the sciences over theological or
metaphysical inquiry.

Power: Personal, economical, political, or social ascendancy and control exercised by

one individual or group over another. Often this is most clearly seen in relationships
between people. Liberal and Marxist thinkers associate power with control over resources

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and institutions. Postmodernists see power not as something held only by the ruling class
but as something diffused throughout society, exercised in many diverse ways by many
diverse people, and closely tied to control over knowledge and discourse through
attitudes, perceptions, and behavior.

Production relations: A Marxist-derived concept that refers to the organization of work

and production among genders, classes, or other social groupings in a specific social and
physical environment.

Race; Differentiation of human beings into various subspecies. This is usually based on
outward physical (or phonotypical) features, such as skin color, facial features, and hair
type. Many social scientists today recognize that race is defined differently in different
societies and at different times and so is largely socially determined. They prefer,
therefore, to use the term ethnicity. Race is socially constructed and plays a crucial role in
women’s experiences and opportunities.

Representation: A term commonly used to refer to an aspect of democratic processes that

permits individuals or groups to select those who will carry forward their ideas and
agendas to higher authorities. The term is used in a different sense in current theoretical
writings to question the power relations implied by having one group convey information
about another group in authoritative ways that may deny the people being “represented”
the opportunity to present their identity on their own terms.

Reproduction: The biological reproduction of children, that is, childbirth and lactation;
the physical reproduction of the wage labour force on a daily basis through domestic
work; and the social reproduction of the patriarchal capitalist system through maintaining
the ideological conditions that reproduce class and gender relations and the political and
economic status quo.

Reserve army of labour: Labour that is cheap and available for capitalist expansion; acts
to keep downward pressure on wages; and includes unemployed workers and potential
wage workers now doing domestic and agricultural work.

Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment refers to unwanted sexual comments, touches,

looks, or pressure to have sex (Henslin, 1999:301).

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Sex: Kendall (1998:68) defines sex as the biological difference between men and women.
It's the first label we receive in life.

Sexual division of labour; The allocation of tasks and responsibilities in society to

women and men. In most in egalitarian societies, the tasks allocated to women have a
consistently lower value than those assigned to men.

What is Sexual Orientation?

Sexual Orientation refers to a preference for emotional-sexual relationships with

individuals of the same sex (homosexuality), the opposite sex (heterosexuality), or both
(bisexuality) (Kendall, 1998:113).

Homophobia: is the fear of and prejudice against homosexuality

Sexism: Kendall (1998:67) describes sexism as the subordination of one sex, usually
female, on the basis of the assumed superiority of the other sex.  An example of sexism is
the statement "a woman's place is in the home." It is a belief that one sex or the other is
innately inferior or superior.

Sexism is discrimination against people based on their sex or gender. Sexism can refer to

three subtly different beliefs or attitudes:

The belief that one sex is superior to the other.

The belief that men and women are very different and that this should be strongly
reflected in society, language, the right to have sex, and the law.

It can also refer to simple hatred of men (misandry) or women (misogyny).

Sexism against women is often called chauvinism, though chauvinism is actually a wider

term for any extreme and unreasonable partisanship toward a group to which one
belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival
group.

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Social capital: Anything, other than capital, that enhances economic performance.

Social construction of gender: The social definition and determination of ideas and
practices. People socially define and determine and can therefore change the ideas and
practices related to feminine and masculine characteristics, activities, and ways of
relating to one another.

Stratification: Structured inequalities between groups in society, based on gender, class,

ethnicity, or other distinguishing characteristics. Although systems of stratification have
existed in virtually all societies, significant differences in wealth and power emerge
within state-based systems.

Gender stratification: Gender stratification, cuts across all aspects of social life, cuts
across all social classes, and refers to men and women's unequal access to power,
prestige, and property on the basis of their sex.

Take-off: Period when the barriers to development are finally overcome and self-
sustaining economic growth can be achieved.

Transnational corporations: Corporations that operate in many countries and plan

production, investment, and distribution strategies across the borders of nation-states.

Gender discrimination: The systematic, unfavorable treatment of individuals on the basis

of their gender, which denies them rights, opportunities or resources

“Not all women are poor, and not all poor people are women, but all women suffer from
discrimination” (Kabeer, 1996:20)

Gender discrimination:
• Women work 67% of the world’s working hours
• 2 out of 3 of the world’s illiterate people are women
• Women’s earnings range from 50-85% of men’s earnings
• Globally women make up just over 10% of representatives in national government
(adapted from Oxfam, 1995:181, and ‘Facts and Figures’ section).

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1.3. Gender-related terminology

Access; Access to resources implies that women are able to use and benefit from specific
resources (including material, financial, human, social and political ones).

Control; Control over resources implies that women can obtain access to a resource and
can also make decisions about the use of that resource. For example, control over land
means that women can access land (use it), can own land (can be the legal title-holders),
and can make decisions about whether to sell or rent the land.

Empowerment; Empowerment implies people – both women and men – taking control
over their lives by setting their own agendas, gaining skills (or having their own skills
and knowledge recognized), increasing their self-confidence, solving problems, and
developing self-reliance. It is both a process and an outcome. Empowerment implies an
expansion in women's ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability
was previously denied to them.

Gender-blindness; an approach/strategy/framework/programme may be defined as

gender-blind when the gender dimension is not considered, although there is clear scope
for such consideration. This is often as a result of lack of training in, knowledge of and
sensitization to gender issues, leading to an incomplete picture of the situation being
addressed and, consequently, to failure.

Gender-neutral; An approach/strategy/framework/programme may be defined as

gender-neutral when the human dimension is not relevant, and thus gender is not an
implication.

Gender analysis; The systematic gathering and examination of information on gender

differences and social relations in order to identify understand and redress inequities
based on gender. Gender analysis is a valuable descriptive and diagnostic tool for
development planners and crucial to gender mainstreaming efforts. The methodology and
components of gender analysis are shaped by how gender issues are understood in the
institution concerned.

Gender equality; denotes women having the same opportunities in life as men, including
the ability to participate in the public sphere. Gender equality entails the concept that all

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human beings, both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and make
choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles, or prejudices.

Gender equality means that the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and
men are considered, valued and favored equally. It does not mean that women and men
have to become the same, but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not
depend on whether they are born male or female. However, this focus on what is
sometimes called formal equality, does not necessarily demand or ensure equality of
outcomes.

Gender equity; denotes the equivalence in life outcomes for women and men,
recognizing their different needs and interests, and requiring a redistribution of power
and resources. Gender equity means fairness of treatment for women and men, according
to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different
but considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities. In
the development context, a gender equity goal often requires built-in measures to
compensate for the historical and social disadvantages of women. The goal of gender
equity, sometimes called substantive equality, moves beyond equality of opportunity by
requiring transformative change.

Gender mainstreaming; Gender mainstreaming has been defined by the ECOSOC

Agreed Conclusions, 1997/2 of 18 July 1997, as "a strategy for making women's, as well
as men's, concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and
social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.
The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality”

Resources; Resources are means and goods, including those that are economic
(household income) or productive (land, equipment, tools, work, credit); political
(capability for leadership, information and organization); and time.

Gender awareness (Gender consciousness); This is the ability to identify problems

arising from gender inequality and discrimination, even if these are not very evident on
the surface, or are ‘hidden’ - i.e. are not a part of the commonly accepted explanation of
what and where the problem lies.

Gender gap; Gender gap is the observable (and often measurable) gap between women
and men on some important socio-economic indicator (e.g. ownership of property, access

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to land, enrolment at school), which is seen to be unjust, and therefore presents the clear
empirical evidence of the existence of a gender issue.

Gender Variance/Gender Non-Conformity: Gender variance refers to behaviors and

interests that fit outside of what we consider ‘normal’ for a child’s assigned biological
sex. We think of these children as having interests that are more typical of the “opposite”
sex; for example, a girl who insists on having short hair and prefers to play football with
the boys, or a boy who wears dresses and wishes to be a princess. These are considered
gender-variant or gender non-conforming behaviors and interests. It should be noted that
gender variance does not typically apply to children who have only a brief, passing
curiosity in trying out these behaviors or interests.

Transgender/Cross gender: These terms, which are used interchangeably, refer to an

individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned birth gender. For
example, a transgender child may self-identify as a girl but was born biologically male.
Being cross gender or transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation
(attraction to people of a specific gender.) Therefore, transgender and cross gender people
may additionally identify as straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In its broadest sense, the
term transgender encompasses anyone whose identity or behavior falls outside of
stereotypical gender norms.

Gender Fluidity: Gender fluidity conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender
expression, with interests and behaviors that may even change from day to day. Gender
fluid children do not feel confined by restrictive boundaries of stereotypical expectations
of girls or boys. For some children, gender fluidity extends beyond behavior and
interests, and actually serves to specifically define their gender identity. In other words, a
child may feel they are a girl some days and a boy on others, or possibly feel that neither
term describes them accurately. Their identity is seen as being gender fluid.

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 CHAPTER-TWO

Theoretical Analysis of Gender

2.1. Introduction

What is a theoretical framework?

Feminist theoretical frameworks and development frameworks have influenced thinking

and policy. A framework is a system of ideas or conceptual structures that help us “see”
the social world, understand it, explain it, and change it. A framework guides our
thinking, research, and action. It provides us with a systematic way of examining social
issues and providing recommendations for change.

A framework consists of basic assumptions about the nature of the social world and how
it works and about the nature of people and how they act. For example, some people
assume that society is basically harmonious and that harmony results from a set of shared
values. Others assume that society is in conflict and that conflict is rooted in class, race,
and gender struggles over power and access to and control over resources.

A framework also indicates how problems are defined and the kinds of questions to be
asked. For example, according to one definition, inequality results from the need to
establish unequal incentives to motivate the most talented people to do the most
important jobs efficiently in society. According to another definition, it results from the
practice of providing differential rewards to keep a less powerful working class
fragmented by gender and race.

Different frameworks also suggest different solutions to problems. For example,

inefficiencies in society can be taken care of through reforming or adjusting the status
quo in a gradual and rational manner. Or inequalities can be abolished through
transforming society to redistribute power and resources fairly.

Each framework provides a set of categories or concepts to be used in clarifying a

problem or issue. Concepts specify important aspects of the social world; they direct our
attention. For example, attention is directed to a key issue by the concept of efficiency in
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the modernization framework, class in a Marxist framework, sexuality in a radical-
feminist framework, and reproduction in a socialist-feminist framework.

Each framework represents an alternative way of looking at the social world. It is

possible to hold different sets of assumptions about the same aspects of social reality.
Each development framework provides its own concepts for examining the process of
development; and each suggests its own strategies for change.

The feminist frameworks each rely on a unique assumption about the basis for women’s
subordination; each raises unique questions and provides unique concepts for examining
women’s inequality; and each suggests quite unique strategies for change. Frameworks
do compete with each other, and some become dominant over time.

Theoretical frameworks are dynamic and continually evolve and change, and this
happens for a variety of reasons:
 People using the framework may find a new way of perceiving a problem, as a result
of research findings;
 The framework may be revised to respond to the users’ critiques; or
 The framework might change as the researchers, in response to critiques from people
using other frameworks, redefine what the critics were “really” saying and
incorporate that into their own framework.

Sociological perspectives on gender roles

Sociologists explain gender roles according to several theoretical perspectives, general

ways of understanding social reality that guide the research process and provide a means
for interpreting the data. In essence, a theory is an explanation. Formal theories consist
of logically interrelated propositions that explain empirical events.

As research on gender issues accelerates and more sophisticated research tools are
developed, it is becoming clearer that the best explanations are also those that are both
interdisciplinary and incorporate concepts related to diversity. Sociological perspectives
on gender also vary according to the level of analysis at which they operate. Macro
sociological perspectives on gender roles direct attention to data collected on large-scale
social phenomena, such as labor force, educational, and political trends that are
differentiated according to gender roles. Micro sociological perspectives on gender roles
direct attention to data collected in small groups and the details of gender interaction
occurring, for example, between couples and in families and peer groups. Micro
sociological perspectives overlap a great deal with the discipline of social psychology.

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When theoretical perspectives can be successfully combined, they offer excellent ways to
better understand gender issues from a sociological perspective. Early sociological
perspectives related to gender roles evolved from scholarship on the sociology of the
family.

2.2. Functionalist Theory (Structural Functionalist Perspective)

In this perspective, which was developed in the 1940s and 1950s, genders are viewed as
complementary - women take care of the home while men provide for the family. Much
current research, especially after the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s,
criticizes this approach for supporting the status quo and condoning the oppression of
women.

Functionalism, also known as “structural functionalism,” is a macro sociological

perspective that is based on the premise that society is made up of interdependent parts,
each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole society. Functionalists seek to
identify the basic elements or parts of society and determine the functions these parts play
in meeting basic social needs in predictable ways.

Functionalists ask how any given element of social structure contributes to overall social
stability, balance, and equilibrium. They assert that in the face of disruptive social
change, society can be restored to equilibrium as long as built-in mechanisms of social
control operate effectively and efficiently. Social control and stability are enhanced when
people share beliefs and values in common. Functionalist emphasis on this value
consensus is a major ingredient in virtually all their interpretations related to social
change. Values surrounding gender roles, marriage, and the family are central to
functionalist assertions regarding social equilibrium.

Pre-industrial Society: Functionalists suggest that in pre-industrial societies social

equilibrium was maintained by assigning different tasks to men and women.

Given the hunting and gathering and subsistence farming activities of most pre-industrial
societies, role specialization according to gender was considered a functional necessity.
In their assigned hunting roles, men were frequently away from home for long periods
and centered their lives on the responsibility of bringing food to the family. It was
functional for women—more limited by pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing—to be
assigned domestic roles near the home as gatherers and subsistence farmers and as
caretakers of children and households. Children were needed to help with agricultural and

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domestic activities. Girls would continue these activities when boys reached the age
when they were allowed to hunt with the older males. Once established, this functional
division of labor was reproduced in societies throughout the globe. Women may have
been farmers and food gatherers in their own right, but they were dependent on men for
food and for protection. Women’s dependence on men in turn produced a pattern in
which male activities and roles came to be more valued than female activities and roles.

Contemporary Society: Similar principles apply to families in contemporary societies.

Disruption is minimized, harmony is maximized, and families benefit when spouses
assume complementary, specialized, non overlapping roles (Parsons and Bales, 1955;
Parsons, 1966). When the husband–father takes the instrumental role, he is expected to
maintain the physical integrity of the family by providing food and shelter and linking the
family to the world outside the home. When the wife–mother takes the expressive role,
she is expected to cement relationships and provide emotional support and nurturing
activities that ensure the household runs smoothly. If too much deviation from these roles
occurs, or when there is too much overlap, the family system is propelled into a state of
imbalance that can threaten the survival of the family unit. Advocates of functionalist
assumptions argue, for instance, that gender role ambiguity regarding instrumental and
expressive roles is a major factor in divorce (Hacker, 2003). Propel

Critique: It does not keep pace with rapid social change moving families toward more
egalitarian attitudes regarding gender roles.

Functionalism has been used as a justification for male dominance and gender
stratification. Functionalism tends to support a white middle-class family model
emphasizing the economic activities of the male household head and domestic activities
of his female subordinate. Women function outside the home only as a reserve labor
force, such as when their labor is needed in wartime. This model does not apply to poor
women and single parents who by necessity must work outside the home to maintain the
household. It may not apply to African American women, who are less likely by choice
to separate family and employment and who derive high levels of satisfaction from both
these roles.

Research also shows that specialization of household tasks by gender in contemporary

families is more dysfunctional than functional. Women relegated to family roles that they
see as restrictive, for example, are unhappier in their marriages and more likely to opt out
of them. Despite tension associated with multiple roles and role overlap, couples report

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high levels of gratification, self esteem, status security, and personally enriched lives
Contemporary families simply do not fit functionalist models.

To its credit, functionalism offers a reasonably sound explanation for the origin of gender
roles and demonstrates the functional utility of assigning tasks on the basis of gender in
subsistence economies or in regions in which large families are functional and children
are needed for agricultural work. Contemporary functionalists also acknowledge that
strain occurs when there is too sharp a divide between the public and the private sphere
(work and family), particularly for women. They recognize that such a divide is artificial
and dysfunctional when families need to cope with the growing interdependence called
for in a global economy. The “superwoman” who “does it all” in career achievement and
family nurturance will be valued (Diekman and Goodfriend, 2006). Finally, neo-
functionalism accounts for the multiple levels where gender relations are operative—
biological, psychological, social, and cultural. A functionalist examination of their
interdependence allows us to understand how female subordination and male superiority
became reproduced throughout the globe.

3.2 Conflict Theory

With its assumptions about social order and social change, the macro sociological
perspective of conflict theory, also referred to as social conflict theory, is in many ways a
mirror image of functionalism. Unlike functionalists, who believe that social order is
maintained through value consensus, conflict theorists assert that it is preserved
involuntarily through the exercise of power one social class holds over another.

Marx, Engels, and Social Class: Originating from the writings of Karl Marx (1818–
1883), conflict theory is based on the assumption that society is a stage on which
struggles for power and dominance are acted out. The struggles are largely between
social classes competing for scarce resources, such as control over the means of
production (land, factories, natural resources), and for a better distribution of all
resources (money, food, material goods). Capitalism thrives on a class-based system that
consolidates power in the hands of a few men of the ruling class (bourgeoisie), who own
the farms and factories that workers (proletariat) depend on for their survival.

The interest of the dominant class is to maintain its position of power over the
subordinate class by extracting as much profit as possible from their work. Only when the
workers recognize their common oppression and form a class consciousness can they

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unite and amass the resources necessary to seriously challenge the inequitable system in
which they find themselves (Marx and Engels, 1964; Marx, 1967).

Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), Marx’s collaborator, applied these assumptions to the

family and, by extension, to gender roles. He suggested that the master–slave or
exploiter–exploited relationships occurring in broader society between the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat are translated into the household. Primitive societies were highly
egalitarian because there were no surplus goods, hence no private property. People
consumed what they produced. With the emergence of private property and the dawn of
capitalistic institutions, Engels argued that a woman’s domestic labor is “no longer
counted beside the acquisition of the necessities of life by the man; the latter was
everything, the former an unimportant extra.” The household is an autocracy, and the
supremacy of the husband is unquestioned. “The emancipation of woman will only be
possible when women can take part in production on a large social scale, and domestic
work no longer claims but an insignificant amount of her time” (Engels, 1942:41–43).

Contemporary Conflict Theory: Later conflict theorists refined original Marxian

assertions to reflect contemporary patterns and make conflict theory more palatable to
people who desire social change that moves in the direction of egalitarianism but not
through the revolutionary means outlined by classical Marxism (Dahrendorf, 1959;
Collins, 1975, 1979). Today conflict theory largely asserts that social structure is based
on the dominance of some groups over others and that groups in society share common
interests, whether its members are aware of it or not. Conflict is not simply based on class
struggle and the tensions between owner and worker or employer and employee; it occurs
on a much wider level and among almost all other groups. These include parents and
children, husbands and wives, young and the old, sick and healthy, people of color and
whites, heterosexual and gay, females and males, and any other groups that can be
differentiated as minority or majority according to the level of resources they possess.
The list is infinite.

Gender and the Family: Conflict theory focuses on the social placement function of the
family that deposits people at birth into families who possess varying degrees of
economic resources. People fortunate enough to be deposited into wealthier families will
work to preserve existing inequality and the power relations in the broader society
because they clearly benefit from the overall power imbalance. Social class endogamy
(marrying within the same class) and inheritance patterns ensure that property and wealth
are kept in the hands of a few powerful families. Beliefs about inequality and the power
imbalance become institutionalized—they are accepted and persist over time as
legitimate by both the privileged and the oppressed—so the notion that family wealth is

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deserved and that those born into poor families remain poor because they lack talent and
a work ethic is perpetuated. The structural conditions that sustain poverty are ignored.
When social placement operates through patriarchal and patrilineal systems, wealth is
further concentrated in the hands of males and further promotes female subservience,
neglect, and poverty.

Contemporary conflict theorists agree with Engels by suggesting that when women gain
economic strength by also being wage earners, their power inside the home is
strengthened and can lead to more egalitarian arrangements.

The conflict perspective is evident in research demonstrating that household

responsibilities have an effect on occupational location, work experience, and number of
hours worked per week, all of which are linked to the gender gap in earnings.
Undesirable work will be performed disproportionately by those lacking resources to
demand sharing the burden or purchasing substitutes. Because household labor is unpaid
and associated with lack of power, the homemaker (wife) takes on virtually all domestic
chores (Lindsey, 1996a; Riley and Kiger, 1999). The more powerful spouse performs the
least amount of household work.

Critique: Conflict theory has been criticized for its overemphasis on the economic basis
of inequality and its assumption that there is inevitable competition between family
members. It tends to dismiss the consensus among wives and husbands regarding task
allocation. In addition, paid employment is not the panacea envisioned by Engels in
overcoming male dominance. The gendered division of household labor does not
translate to significant wage reductions for employed women outside the home or
reduced in-home responsibilities (Tichenor, 2005; Lincoln, 2008). In the former Soviet
Union women had the highest levels of paid employment in the world, but retained more
household responsibilities than comparable women in other countries, and earned two-
thirds of the average male income. In post–Communist Russia, there is no change in
women’s domestic work, but women now earn less than half of men’s average earnings.

Research unanimously concludes that even in those cultures where gender equity in the
workplace is increasing, employed women globally take on a “second shift” of domestic
work after returning home.

A conspiratorial element emerges when conflict theory becomes associated with the idea
that men as a group are consciously organized to keep women in subordinate positions. A
number of social forces, many of them unorganized or unintended, come into play when

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explaining gender stratification. Functionalism’s bias against social change might be
matched with conflict theory’s bias for social change. Compared to functionalism,
however, this bias is less of a problem for conflict theory once it is stripped of some
Marxian baggage. Contemporary conflict theory has made strong inroads in using social
class to further clarify the gender–race–class link, suggesting that the class advantages for
people of color may override the race disadvantages (Gimenez, 2001; Lareau, 2002;
Misra, 2002). Most people are uncomfortable with sexism and patterns of gender
stratification that harm both women and men. Women are denied opportunities to expand
instrumental roles offering economic parity with men outside the home; men are denied
opportunities for expanding expressive and nurturing roles inside the home. At the
ideological level, sociological conflict theory has been used to support activities designed
to reduce racism, economic-based disparity (classism), and sexism.

2.3. Symbolic-interactionists Perspective

Gender and gender roles are learned through socialization process. Women are socialized
into expressive roles; men are socialized into instrumental roles. It studies the micro level
of everyday behavior. Men are more likely than women to: Change topics of
conversation, ignore topics chosen by women, Minimize ideas of women, and Interrupt
women

Rubin, Provenzano, and Luria, 1974: In the first 24 hours after birth, parents described
girls and boys differently, though there were no actual differences between them.

Jacklin, 1984: Parents give sons toys that encourage invention and manipulation, while
girls receive toys that emphasize caring and imitation.

McHale et al., 1990: Parents assign boys maintenance chores, and give girls domestic
tasks.

2.4. Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic interaction, also called “the interactionist perspective,” is at the heart of the
sociological view of social interaction at the micro level. With attention to people’s
behavior in face-to-face social settings, symbolic interactionists explain social interaction
as a dynamic process in which people continually modify their behavior as a result of the
interaction itself. Herbert Blumer (1900–1987), who originated the term symbolic
interaction, asserted that people do not respond directly to the world around them, but to
the meaning they bring to it. Society, its institutions, and its social structure exist—that is,
social reality is bestowed— only through human interaction (Blumer, 1969). Reality is
what members agree to be reality.

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People interact according to how they perceive a situation, how they understand the
social encounter, and the meanings they bring to it. Another important step in the
interaction process involves how they think other people who are part of the interaction
also understand the encounter. Each person’s definition of the situation influences others’
definitions. To illustrate symbolic interaction’s emphasis on the fluidity of behavior, I
developed the concept of the end point fallacy, asserting that the negotiation of social
reality is an ongoing process in which new definitions produce new behavior in a never-
ending cycle. The end point fallacy is an excellent way to explain the inconsistencies
between people’s behavior as they move from setting to setting.

Social Construction of Reality: Symbolic interaction is a micro level perspective, but it

does take into account that social interaction is a process governed by norms that are
largely determined by culture. Cultural norms offer general guidelines for role behavior,
but symbolic interactionists assert that we have latitude in the way we act out our roles.
The context of the interaction is usually a key determinant of role performance. What is
appropriate role performance in one context may be inappropriate in another. Cultural
norms are modified whenever social interaction occurs because people bring their own
definitions about appropriate behavior to the interaction. These definitions shape the way
people see and experience the world.

Symbolic interactionists refer to this shaping process as the social construction of

reality—the shaping of perception of reality by the subjective meanings brought to any
experience or social interaction. Consistent with Herbert Blumer’s view, every time
social interaction occurs, people creatively construct their own understanding of it—
whether “real” or not—and behave accordingly.

Doing Gender: Symbolic interactionists contend that concepts used to collectively

categorize people—such as race, ethnicty, and gender—do not exist objectively but
emerge through a socially constructed process. People called “females” or “males” are
endowed with certain traits defined as feminine or masculine. Concepts such as gender,
therefore, must be found in the meanings people bring to them (Denzin, 1993; Deutscher
and Lindsey, 2005:5). Gender emerges not as an individual attribute but something that is
“accomplished” in interaction with others. People, therefore, are doing gender
(Fenstermaker and West, 2002). In “doing” gender, symbolic interaction takes its lead
from Erving Goffman (1922–1982), who developed a dramaturgy approach to social
interaction. Goffman maintained that the best way to understand social interaction is to
consider it as an enactment in a theatrical performance. Like actors on a stage, we use
strategies of impression management, providing information and cues to others that
present us in a favorable light (Goffman, 1959, 1963, 1971).

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Think about the heterosexual bar scene where men usually sit at the counter and operate
from a script where they are expected to make the first move. If a woman is with friends,
she must disengage herself if she is “selected” by the man. It is probable that the women
drove separately. Data from television also illustrate these concepts. Prime time
television commonly depict traditionally scripted sexual encounters according to gender
and beliefs about heterosexuality that sustain power differences between men and women
and between heterosexual and homosexual men (Kim et al., 2007). Although there are
many cultural variations, gender-scripted rules are laid out, negotiated, and acted upon in
bars and meeting places for singles and witnessed by TV viewers across the globe.

Gender roles are structured by one set of scripts designed for males and another designed
for females. Although each script permits a range of behavior options, the typical result is
that gender labels promote a pattern of between-sex competition, rejection, and emotional
segregation. This pattern is reinforced when we routinely refer to those of the other sex
(gender) as the opposite sex. Men and women label each other as opposite to who they
are, and then behave according to that label. The behavior serves to separate rather than
connect the genders.

Doing Difference: Research on men and women in various social networks— formed at
school, work, and in volunteer activities—further illustrates this process. From early
childhood these groups are usually gender segregated. Gendered subcultures emerge that
strengthen the perceptions of gender differences and erode the common ground on which
intimate, status-equal friendships between the genders are formed (Rouse, 2002).
Differences rather than similarities are much more likely to be noticed, defined, and acted
on. When cross-gender social interaction occurs, such as in the workplace, it is unlikely
that men and women hold statuses with similar levels of power and prestige. Once the
genders are socially constructed as different, it is easier for those with more power (men)
to justify inequality toward those with less power (women). Social difference is
constructed into social privilege (Fenstermaker and West, 2002).

Critique: Symbolic interaction’s approach to understanding gender role behavior is

criticized for its overall lack of attention to macro level processes that often limits choice
of action and prompts people to engage in gendered behavior that counters what they
would prefer to do. Cultural norms may be in flux at the micro level of social interaction,
but they remain a significant structural force on behavior. In some cultures, for example,
women and men are dictated by both law and custom to engage in certain occupations,
enter into marriages with people they would not choose on their own, and be restricted
from attending school. Larger social structures also operate at the family level to explain
family dynamics. Men and women interact not only as individual family members but

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also according to other roles they play in society and the prestige associated with those
roles. For example, a wealthy white man who holds a powerful position in a corporation
does not dissolve those roles when he walks into his home. They shape his life at home,
in the workplace, and in the other social institutions in which he takes part. Race, class,
and gender offer a range of privileges bestowed by the broader society that also create a
power base in his home. Power and privilege can result in a patriarchal family regardless
of the couple’s desire for a more egalitarian arrangement.

Others argue that symbolic interaction’s emphasis on doing gender undermines its
fluidity to recast gender norms in ways that benefit both men and women. Divorce allows
for the “redoing” of gender—housework, parenting, and breadwinning roles are
repudiated (Walzer, 2008). Traditional gender accountability may no longer apply in the
post-divorce lives of former spouses and children.

Research on social dancing and its highly sexualized “grinding” form demonstrates the
ways females challenge scripts and may be redoing gender on the dance floor. In hip-hop
clubs, young women of color set the dance stage for negotiating sexual and emotional
encounters (Munoz-Laboy et al., 2007). These women challenge “hyper masculine”
privilege by determining the form of dance, by taking the lead, by dancing with women,
and by rejecting (or accepting) sexual groping by male partners. Other data suggest that
young women of all races use social dance as escapism, fantasy, and compensatory
sexuality, especially when dancing with acquaintances rather than friends (Hutt, 2008).

Taking a step further, some argue that symbolic interaction’s doing gender approach
needs to be abandoned. If gender accountability assumes that inequality is inevitable,
research on ways of “undoing gender” should be the focus of sociological analysis.
(Deutsch, 2007; Risman, 2009:81). Are the young women on the dance floor “redoing” or
“undoing gender”? Gendered scripts invade their dance space even as they transgress its
boundaries.

You buy into this scenario that. . . . We’re all willing to pretend in this one place . . . that
we’re allowed to do things with each other that maybe you would think about doing off
of first glance anyway. . . . It’s kind of like a. . . . Simulated closeness with people. (Hutt,
2008:12)

Sociological analysis of sexuality is beginning to explore the body not merely as a

passive surface to be acted upon, but in its relationship to human agency (Bryant, 2007).

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More research is needed to determine if in the micro-worlds of post-divorce homes or in
dance clubs traditional scripts can be modified enough to say that gender is “undone.”

There are two types of competing development frameworks: modernization and

dependency. And also there are seven feminist frameworks: liberal, Marxist, radical,
black, socialist and postmodernist. We discuss how development and feminist
frameworks intersected to become the two main competing feminist development
frameworks, WID and GAD.

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 CHAPTER THREE

Gender and Development Movements

3.1. Introduction

Gender

"Gender" is not the same as "sex" or "women"; it is about the relationship between men
and women, and therefore concerns men as much as it does women. Defined by societal
norms and practices, and supported by societal attitudes, this relationship is usually
skewed in favor of men. This approach to analyzing gender relations does not negate the
fact that men can also find themselves in a position of subordination; it recognizes that
women are more often subordinated.

The term gender refers to the social facets of culture, religion, and classes that condition
the way in which masculine and feminine roles and status are constructed and defined in
each society. Gender relations are dynamic and changing over time in response to varying
socioeconomic and ideological circumstances. They are neither static nor immutable.
Rather they are changeable, subject to modification, renegotiation, and reinterpretation,
unlike the universal and constant biological (sex) differences between males and females.
As gender (the social differentiation between women and men) is socially and culturally
constructed, gender roles can be transformed by social changes.

Development

It is the progressive realization of the capabilities, abilities and talents of each individual
for his/her own satisfaction and enhancement of the social goods.

Although there is widespread agreement that development should be broad-based,

women often remain marginalized in the process. Though the experiences of individual
women vary widely, in general women are treated as a group fare worse than men on a
number of fronts ranging from the incidence of poverty to protection under the law and
from access to health care to decision-making power. The National Development
Strategy gives a unique opportunity to draw together analysis of the situation of women
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in this country and to discuss ways forward. So as to fully harness the human capital of
the country - can we hope to enhance the social good.

The National Development Strategy, gender cannot be easily isolated as a separate topic
or sector, given its fundamental importance to all areas, ranging from employment policy
to agriculture, and from environmental policy to poverty alleviation. In fact, the subject
of gender often ends up marginalization when it is separated in such a way, and
ultimately the challenge should be to integrate it into the mainstream. As Plan of Action
on Gender and Development states, a key strategic objective of government should be to
"integrate gender in all government agendas, policies and programmes and create a
culture within government which is gender-sensitive and where gender issues become the
responsibility of all..."

3.2. Gender Needs

It is the fulfillment of “gender roles" that determine people's "gender needs". Such needs
can be further broken down into "practical gender needs" and "strategic gender needs”.

A. Practical Gender Needs

Practical gender needs refer those needs of men and women as defined by their existing
engendered roles within society, in which, as mentioned, women must fulfill three roles
while men usually fulfill one. Practical needs and practical policies are concerned with
the effective fulfillment of these socially defined roles; that is, they do not seek to change
the status quo. "Practical gender needs are to do with what people need to perform their
current roles more easily, effectively and efficiently. Projects can be designed to meet the
practical gender needs of both men and women without necessarily changing their
relative position in society". Practical gender needs of women such as health care, water
supply, education, laborsaving technologies, etc.

Examples of policies that address women's practical gender needs are:

 The provision of conveniently located stand-pipes and the development of fuel-
efficient stoves, both of which will reduce their workload;
 Training in traditional productive activities (such as crafts) to increase their
income;
 The provision of child health education for women as a support to their child
rearing role; and

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  The provision of crèches so that mothers can bring their children to work.

B. Strategic Gender Needs

In contrast, strategic needs and strategic policies are directly concerned with changing the
status quo: challenging socially defined roles and tackling gender subordination in
society. Indeed, most governments now endorse the need to improve the status of women.
The strategic needs of women may include the right to land ownership, access to loans, or
active participation in decision-making bodies such as water user associations. The
strategic gender needs ensuring that the project assists women to increase their benefits
and to overcome structural constraints.

Examples of policies that address women's strategic gender needs are:

 The provision of training in non-traditional productive activities (such as, building
or plumbing) which are often better paid;
 Legislation to ensure that women receive equal pay and conditions for equal work
of equal value;
 Legislation to deal with imbalances of power in the family such as domestic
violence and unequal divorce settlements; and
 The encouragement of female membership of parliament, local committees, and
other political bodies so as to enhance women's participation in decision-making
process.
Such a distinction is useful when specifying goals, objectives, policies and programs; it is
important to be clear about whether the objective of a particular policy is practical or
strategic.

However, it is important not to treat women as a homogenous group; the experience of an

individual woman will vary with respect to her class, race, and religion, among other
factors. As a result different women will have different needs; some may only express
practical needs, while others may be more concerned with strategic issues. A top-down
approach that imputes generalized needs on women as a group must be avoided.

3.3. Gender roles

Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society/community or other social group
that condition which activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as male or female.
Gender roles vary considerably across settings and also change over time. The following
factors can shape and change gender roles:

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Types of gender roles

The concept of gender roles has been developed from the work of Caroline Moser. She
explains this concept as follows: Gender planning recognizes that in most societies low-
income women have a triple role: women undertake reproductive, productive,
and community managing activities, while men primarily
undertake productive and community politics activities. 
Reproductive role  Childbearing/rearing responsibilities, and domestic tasks done
by women, required to guarantee the maintenance and
reproduction of the labor force. It includes not only biological
reproduction but also the care and maintenance of the work
force (male partner and working children) and the future work
force (infants and school-going children).
Productive role  Work done by both men and women for pay in cash or kind. It
includes both market production with an exchange-value, and
subsistence/home production with actual use-value, and also
potential exchange-value. For women in agricultural
production, this includes work as independent farmers, peasant
wives and wage workers.
Community managing Activities undertaken primarily by women at the community
role  level, as an extension of their reproductive role, to ensure the
provision and maintenance of scarce resources of collective
consumption, such as water, health care and education. This is
voluntary unpaid work, undertaken in 'free' time.
Community politics Activities undertaken primarily by men at the community level,
role  organizing at the formal political level, often within the
framework of national politics. This is usually paid work, either
directly or indirectly, through status or power.

3.4. Policy Approaches to Gender Development

Formal policy approaches aiming to incorporate women into development activities

began in the early 1970s, and over the past 30 years evolved on the basis of experience,
review, and reformulation of strategies and objectives through several stages from
welfare-oriented, equity, antipoverty, and mainstreaming approaches. By the 1980s, WID
was accepted and adopted internationally as a strategic emphasis aiming to achieve
women’s integration in all aspects of the development process.

There are two main (basic) types of policy approaches.

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 I. Women in development approach

International acceptance of the need to overtly place women on the development agenda
was accompanied by the formulation of WID policies and the institutionalization of
various mechanisms, among both development agencies and recipients of international
development assistance, to address the concerns, needs, and contributions of women.
This led to a plethora of WID programs and projects aimed to improve the condition of
women and to deliver development to women.

Agency and independent reviews by the early 1990s of these WID projects, approaches,
and institutional mechanisms drew virtually unanimous conclusions about the strengths
and weaknesses of the WID approach. Reviews of the under resourced and often
marginalized government women’s units indicated they were unable to effectively
influence national policies or to bring about the gender equity that was envisaged at their
establishment. Targeted and segregated women-only projects operated to further
marginalize and isolate women from the mainstream of development. Relegating the
responsibility for improving the status of women (50% of the population) to one
department rather than to all sectoral ministries simply ghettoized women. Treating
women as a unified and special category divorced from other social relations, including
economic and social processes, would not accommodate or accurately reflect the various
groups of women or the different voices of women. More importantly, the reviews and
evaluations revealed that such approaches had not succeeded in significantly narrowing
the gap between women and men. Women-only projects were concerned with strategic
issues. A top-down approach that imputes generalized needs on women as a group must
be avoided. Women-only projects were often poorly conceived and funded, and
sometimes added to women’s already heavy workloads with few compensatory benefits.

These reviews, analyses, and conclusions led to significant rethinking of the WID
approach. It became evident that projects focusing exclusively on women implied that the
problem, and hence the solution, could be confined to women. For example, population
programs that exclusively targeted women were often unsuccessful, since their male
partners, whose consent was integral to project success, were not targeted. Contraceptive
acceptance often required the explicit consent of men. It became obvious that, unless men
were sensitized to the dangers of repeated and frequent pregnancies, improvements in
women’s health and reductions in fertility rates could not be achieved. Such approaches
failed to recognize the critical role of men in decisions regarding women’s lives.
Likewise, education projects that targeted only girls by building schools exclusively for
them did not always achieve the desired results because men were not sensitized to the

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benefits to be achieved from educating girls, or the socio-cultural environment was not
adequately assessed.

Relying on women as the analytical category for addressing gender inequalities meant a
focus on women in isolation from the rest of their lives and from the relations through
which such inequalities were perpetuated and reproduced. This led to the major shift from
women as the key focus of analysis to a focus on gender relations, i.e., the social relations
between men and women that generate and perpetuate gender inequalities.

The rethinking of the WID approach also led to a move away from assessing the adverse
impact of development on women to examining the adverse impact of women’s exclusion
on development. “Women need development” was replaced by “development needs
women.” Social justice and equity arguments were complemented with arguments of
economic efficiency. The marginalization and isolation of women from the mainstream
of the development process came to be seen as economically inefficient and hampering
economic growth. Hence, welfare-oriented and equity approaches were increasingly
replaced and complemented with main- streaming and efficiency approaches.

However, there were two highly influential criticisms of the economic efficiency
approach from leading women’s advocates. These criticisms pointed out that (i)
mainstreaming women into development does not question the nature of the development
itself, which may be contrary to women’s interests and concerns; and (ii) taking account
of and supporting women’s actual roles in production does not challenge the often
inequitable basis by which these roles are allocated within society. These criticisms have
led to a new strategic emphasis on women’s empowerment within the development
process. It aims to support measures that empower women to contribute to setting
development agenda, and to challenge socioeconomic systems that place them at a
relative disadvantage to men.

The evaluation of past failures also led to the realization that the development process
itself needs engendering. Hence, there is a need to refocus the strategic emphasis from a
narrow WID approach to a more dynamic GAD approach.

II. Gender and development approach

The gender and development approach sees gender as a crosscutting issue with relevance
for and influencing all economic, social, and political processes. A gender-focused

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approach seeks to redress gender inequity through facilitating strategic, broad-based, and
multifaceted solutions to gender inequality.

A strategic or agenda-setting approach analyzes and defines the structures that generate
and maintain the gender disparities that place constraints on development. This entails a
proactive approach to gender issues in project identification and design, and includes
gender analysis and diagnosis in the definition of project beneficiaries. It aims to identify
both the practical gender needs and strategic gender needs.

Inherent in the GAD approach is gender mainstreaming, this is a means of addressing

women’s concerns more holistically and effectively. It requires gender planning to be
applied to all development operations and projects, and allows women to be factored into
economic and development policy. The GAD approach utilizes gender analysis, which is
the tool for analyzing the specific nature of gender differences by asking basic questions
such as who does what, where, when, how often, with what resources and returns, and
who controls what. Such questions enable an assessment of gender differentiations in
activities, resource ownership, use, and control. On the basis of the information obtained
through gender analysis, appropriate policy, project interventions, strategies, and
mechanisms can be designed to assist in improving women’s inclusion, status, and
productivity.

The GAD approach, however, does not mean that stand-alone women’s projects or
projects with special components targeting women are to be abandoned altogether. Until
there are no structural constraints and barriers restricting women’s participation, projects
directed exclusively at women or projects with special components addressed at women
are still required, especially in circumstances wherein cultural dictates necessitate
segregation of the sexes, or in situations where women require special assistance to
enable their full participation in mainstream projects. Gender mainstreaming is not to
imply that women no longer require special attention in projects since their interests are
“mainstreamed” and all project inputs are equally accessible to men and women.

Until women reach a stage when they can truly become equal partners with men in
development, special attention to address women’s needs and concerns will be required.
Projects that mainstream women need, special design features to facilitate and promote
the inclusion of women. Components have to be built into projects that are strategically
designed to improve women’s access, equity, and benefits so as to lead to long-term
improvements in their social and economic status. It is not an either/or proposition but
entails a combination of approaches that include mainstreaming women into all projects,

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women-specific components, and separate projects and programs directed exclusively at
women. A transition period is necessary during which the dual approach of
mainstreaming, plus special projects and initiatives targeted directly at women is required
to facilitate women’s full and equal participation in development.

The difference between the two approaches

In the GAD approach, the strategic emphasis is widened to include women’s rights,
women’s role as active participants and agents in development, and their role as actors
with a specific agenda for development. Compare this with the earlier WID approaches
that perceived women simply as reproducers (family planning), and passive recipients of
resources (basic needs and services). Hence, welfare-oriented, “add women and stir”
approaches that treated women as passive recipients of development were replaced by
approaches that attempt to engender development, empower women, and perceive
women as active agents in their own right.

The difference between WID and GAD is essentially based on the approach to assessing
and dealing with women’s unequal position in society. GAD does not dislodge women as
the central subject. Rather, while the WID approach focused exclusively on women to
improve women’s unequal position, the GAD approach recognizes that improvements in
women’s status require analysis of the relations between men and women, as well as the
concurrence and cooperation of men. Emphasis is placed on the need to understand the
ways in which unequal relations between women and men may contribute to the extent
and forms of exclusion that women face in the development process. There is also an
overt recognition that the participation and commitment of men is required to
fundamentally alter the social and economic position of women. This recognition led to a
shift from an exclusive focus on women to a GAD approach that also factors into the
equation males and the broader socio-cultural environment.

Policy approaches under GAD approach

There are five specific types of policy approaches for gender and development;

1. Welfare Approach

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The main objective is to develop better bearing woman mothers. Women are generally
regarded as passive recipients of development. In general, the reproductive role of
women is recognized, the policy aims at meeting the practical needs of women through
this role from the top down for the distribution of food aid, measures against mal
nutrition and planning.

The welfare approach is the oldest and still the most popular social development of
policies for the Third World in general, for women in the particular. The welfare of the
family was targeted women, which disabled and the sick have been identified as
"vulnerable" groups, and remained under the responsibility of the ministries marginalized
social protection. This approach is based on three principles: firstly, that women passive
recipient of development instead of participants in the development process. Secondly,
motherhood in society is the most important role. Thirdly, the education of children is the
most effective role earns a livelihood.

However, the equity process is also concerned with fundamental equality issues which
are outside the field of development cooperation. It describes the main concern is the
inequality between men and women in both the public and private sectors of the life and
the overall socio-economic groups. It identifies the causes of the subordination of women
not only in the context of the family, but also in relations between men and women in the
market. Therefore, it is also aimed at economic empowerment, as a synonym for equity.

2. The equity approach

Equity is the original "women in development" approach, in which the UN women of the
decade 1976-85. The aim is to achieve equity for women in development. Women are
also seen as active participants in development.

In the 1970s studies have shown that, although women are often the main sources of
basic productivity of their communities, especially in agriculture, their contribution to the
economy was returned or not national statistics in the planning and execution of
development projects.

This approach recognizes that women participate actively in the development process,
which by their reproductive role productive and offer criticism, so often ignored in
contributing to economic growth. The approach begins with the assumption that the
economic strategies often have a negative impact on women. With particular focus on

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reducing the inequality between men and women in the gender division of labor, capital
approach has a key strategic necessity between them. Ultimately, the approach of equity
was built to meet the strategic needs of men and women through top-down legislative
measures. The bottom-up mobilization of women in political pressure groups to ensure
that political action is the result of the empowerment approach, developed by women in
the Third World.

3. The Anti-Poverty Approach

The fundamental objective is to ensure that poor women to increase their productivity.
Women's poverty is seen as the problem of underdevelopment, not of subordination. It
recognizes the productive role of women and is designed to meet the practical needs of
women making money, mainly through small income-generating projects. It is very
popular with NGOs.

The fight against poverty approaching women can be identified as the second WID
approach, where economic inequalities between men and women is linked, but not
subordination of poverty. The focus shifts in reducing the inequality between men and
women, reducing income inequality. Women's issues are separated from equity issues
related to the location and care for the majority of women in the Third World, as "poor
reaches the poor."

The low-income women are identified as a particular "target" to be assisted absolute

deprivation: first, because the failure of "trickle-down was partially attributed to the fact
that women are ignored in earlier plans and development. Because the traditional
importance of women in a large part of meeting the basic needs of the family.

The fight against poverty in the political approach of women focuses on the productivity
of their role on the basis that alleviate poverty and promoting balanced economic growth
requires increasing the productivity of women in households with low incomes.

The pre occupation of the basic needs of strategies for population control has also led to
increasing recognition that education and employment programs can simultaneously
increase women's contribution to the economy and reduction of fertility.

4. Efficiency Approach

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Its aim is to ensure that development is more efficient and effective through women.
Women's participation is treated as equity for women. The goal is to meet the practical
needs of women, while relying on the three roles of women and elastic concept of
women's time. It is very popular as an approach. The assumption that economic
participation enhances the status of women and is associated with equity has been
criticized widely. Problems such as lack of education and production technologies have
also been identified as constraints that affect women's participation.

During the last decade, these low-income women have always worked twelve to eighteen
hours per day, depending on factors such as household composition, the period of the
year and their skills. Therefore, work hours have not changed fundamentally. What has
changed is the time to allocate different activities. The need for access to resources for
women to allocate increasing time to productive and community management activities,
to the detriments of reproductive activities which in many cases have become a
secondary Delegation of priority as far as possible to other girls or women from
household members.

5. Empowerment Approach

Empowerment is the latest approach, articulated by Third World women. The goal is to
the position of women through greater autonomy. It is unpopular, with the exception of
the third world women's NGOs and their supporters.

Superficially, it seems May synonymous with the approach of equity, with references
often combined with a power / empowerment. In this approach all person has the
opportunity to develop his or her full potential and creativity. In such a world women's
reproductive role will be redefined: childcare will be shared by men, women and society
as a whole ... Only by tightening the links between equality, development and peace, we
can show that the "fundamental rights" of the poor and the transformation of institutions
that subordinate women are inextricably linked.

The empowerment approach recognizes inequality between men and women, and the
origin of the subordination of women in the family. But it also underlines the fact that the
experience of the oppression of women differently on the basis of race, class, colonial
history and current position in the international economic order.

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This approach recognizes the role of women and aims through bottom-up women’s
associations to raise awareness of women to challenge their subordination. It is clear that
the "flexibility" is still limited, with the well-being, and, more recently, efficiency, policy
approaches adopted prevail by most governments and international agencies. This
approach is focused not only to meet the practical needs of women, but also raise
awareness of the struggle for the strategic gender needs.

3.5. Issues of concern for women

Women's movement was started in 1940.But come to attention in 1970. In 1975

international women conference held in Mexico. The theme was “equity, development,
and peace” It known as years of women in 1980 IWC held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The
theme was “status of women in all aspects”. This conference was preceded by convention
on elimination of discrimination against women.

In 1985 held in Nairobi .The theme was Advancement of women .But in 1995 held in
Beijing it reviews the Nairobi's issue. To this end, 12 critical areas of women are
identified. The advancement of women equality is a matter of human rights and social
justice, not the issue of women. Therefore GOV’t, NGOs, international community and
civil society and private companies should take strategic actions in critical areas of
gender.

1. Increasing burden of poverty

Poverty is a multi- dimensional term. It can be manifested as follows; the lack of income
and productive resources, Hunger and mal-nutrition, Social discrimination, Ill health,
Lack of education and Homelessness.

Poverty is acute particularly for women b/c they lack credit, land, information, capital
and training. So, the above things will make them to suffer from sexual exploitation.

Actions to be taken 
 Review and modify, with the full and equal participation of women, macroeconomic
and social policies
 Promote women's economic opportunities and equal access to productive resources
 Provide adequate safety nets and strengthen State-based and community-based
support systems

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 Enable women to obtain affordable housing and access to land
 Generate economic policies that have a positive impact on the employment and
income of women workers
2. Education and training

Education and training are crucial for Development, peace and equality. Factors that
block women from education are; Costmary attitude, early marriage and pregnancy,
Sexual harassment, domestic responsibilities makes them poor scholastic performance
and early drop out. And also they lack sexual and reproductive know-how.

So all actors and government should take actions on;

 Equal access to education by removing discrimination on gender , race ,religion, age,
ability
 Eliminate gender disparity by ensuring equal access to career, development, training
etc
 Provide universal access to basic education and ensure completion of primary
education
 Create a gender-sensitive educational system
 Increase enrolment and retention rates of girls by allocating appropriate budgetary
resources
3. Health

• Health is a state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Both women and men
are affected by disease ,but women experience it differently like; Economic dependency
and poverty, Violence (hurt, kill), pregnancy and child bearing, Early marriage, harmful
practice, Early sex experience makes them risk of unwanted and too early abortion,
unsafe abortion and infected with transmitted disease.

Actions should be taken on;

 Design and implement gender sensitive programme
 Provide accessible, available, and affordable health service.
 Recognize and deal with the health impact of unsafe abortion as a major public health
concern
 Reaffirm the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and
mental health
4. Empower and decision making

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Women are under presented in decision making position like;-art, sport, media, education
and religion. Unequal division of labor and responsibility with household limits their
potential to find the time and develop skills for participation in decision.

Actions to be taken;
 Protect and promote the equal rights of women and men to engage in political
activities and to freedom of association
 Recognize that shared work and parental responsibilities between women and men
promote women's increased participation in public life.
 Establishing the goal of gender balance in governmental bodies and committees, as
well as in public administrative entities.

5. Violence against women

Women are subjected to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. The main root cause
of violence is low social and economic status. Violence occurs both at family level and
community level.

Violence at family; it includes Battering, sexual abuse of female in household, dowry

activity, marital rape and female genital mutilation

Violence with in community; it includes Rape, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment,
Intimidation at training center and Trafficking (illegal trade for sexual purpose).

Actions to be taken
 Formulate and implement, at all appropriate levels, plans of action to eliminate
violence against women;
 Enact and enforce legislation against the perpetrators of practices and acts of violence
against women
 Organize, support and fund community-based education and training campaigns to
raise awareness about violence against women
 Raise awareness of the responsibility of the media in promoting non-stereotyped
images of women

6. Women and armed conflict

Gross human right violation and policies of ethnic cease in war-torn and occupied areas
continue to carry out. The above practice creates amass movement of refuges and
displaced persons in need of protection; the majority of them are women. Women who

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are not injured are became care givers for injured combatants, take them as a result of
conflict, as sole manager of household, sole parent and care taker of elderly relatives

Actions to be taken;
 Increase and hasten, as appropriate, subject to national security considerations
 Encourage diplomacy, negotiation and peaceful settlement of disputes
 Offer adequate protection and assistance to women and children displaced within
their country
 Take action to promote equal participation of women and equal opportunities for
women to participate in all forums and peace activities at all levels

7. Economy and women

Women are virtually absent from or poorly represented in economic decision making
including formulation of financial, monetary , commercial and other economic
policies ,as well as tax systems.

Actions to be taken
 Enact and enforce legislation to guarantee the rights of women and men to equal pay
for equal work or work of equal value;
 Eliminate discriminatory practices by employers and take appropriate measures in
consideration of women's reproductive role
 Give women equal rights and access of resources, other forms of property, credit,
and new technology
 Promote gender-sensitive policies and measures

8. Institutional mechanisms

For the advancement of women institutions should design, promote, implement, execute,
monitor, evaluate and mobilize support for policies that promote advancement of women.

However, most institutions are practicing the following; unclear mandates, in adequate
staff, lack of data and sufficient resource and in sufficient support from national political
leaders. So institutions should promote active and visible policy of mainstreaming gender
perspective in all policies and programs.

Actions to be taken;
 Provide staff training in designing and analyzing data from a gender perspective;

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 Facilitate the formulation and implementation of government policies on equality
between women and men
 Promote the increased participation of women as both active agents and beneficiaries
 Promote a gender perspective in all legislation and policies

9. Human rights of women

Human rights of women are inalienable, integral, and indivisible part of universal human
right.

Actions to be taken
 Create or strengthen independent national institutions for the protection and
promotion of these rights
 Develop a comprehensive human rights education programme
 Include gender aspects in reporting under all other human rights conventions
 Give full, equal and sustained attention to the human rights of women
 Encourage incorporation of a gender perspective in national programmes of action

10. Media

Lack of gender sensitive in the media is evidenced by the failure to eliminate the gender
based stereotype. Private and electronic media do not provide balanced picture of women
lives and their contributions e.g. pornographic media.

Actions to be taken
 Promote women's full and equal participation in the media
 Train women to make greater use of information technology for communication
 Encourage gender-sensitive training for media professionals
 Take effective measures or institute such measures, including appropriate legislation
against pornography

11. Environment and women

Women are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. Women has
role in managing natural resources, in production and consumption pattern. But,
deterioration of natural resources displaces communities from income generating
activities.

Actions to be taken
 Ensure opportunities for women to participate in environmental decision-making

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 Facilitate and increase women's access to information and education in the areas of
science, technology and economics
 Take measures to empower women as producers and consumers so that they can take
effective environmental actions
 Integrate a gender perspective in the design and implementation of resource
management, production techniques and infrastructure development

12. The child girl

Girl Childs are discriminated from the earliest stage of life through her childhood into
adulthood. The number of women is less than men in any positions due to harmful
practice and son preference which results female infanticide and prenatal sex selection
(before birth of child).

Actions to be taken
 Ensure that children receive appropriate financial support from their parents
 Eliminate the injustice and obstacles in relation to inheritance faced by the girl child
 Develop policies and programmes, giving priority to formal and informal education
programmes that support girls.
 Provide public information on the removal of discriminatory practices against girls
and respecting human right of child girl

3.6. Women and men in development

There are two types of arguments why women and men to be concerned in development;

1) The instrumental argument

It states that to reach the basic objective of a certain project it must to target men and
women differently. Because of there is gender division of labor. It takes both women and
men as an instrument of development

2) The Fairness approach

It is the question of equality and fairness. Some projects are achieving their goals with
out taking gender issues in to account. Hence, this argument emphasize on giving equal
attention.

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Women contribute significant agricultural labor force therefore, to be efficient, and
achieve development objective Programs should focus on women roles, Extension
activities should include both women and men and Making both women and men to play
an active role in productivity and welfare of house hold

3.7. Barriers to women involvement in development

The Following problems make women to be excluded from development issues;

No specific gender policy, Women contribution is neglected, Poverty issues are

emphasized than gender issues, Women are prioritized only for reproductive roles and
there is gender fatigue by extension agent.
The four basic barriers to women are:
 Time related problem
 Resource constraint ( lack of access and control)
 Mobility related problem
 Skill and education
 In addition, they are affected by; cultural, religious household, responsibilities
and extension methods

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 CHAPTER-FOUR

Youth and development

4.1. Definition of youth

Youth is another categorizing means people. UN defines youth as any age ranges from
15-24. It can also be defined as any person between child age and adolescent.

In Ethiopia 70% of rural people are youth. Ethiopia gives a definition to youth as a one
whose age ranges from 15-30. The 1997 census out of 52 million of Ethiopia 13 million
constitutes rural youth. This age is very productive and important resources of rural
development.

4.2. Common problems faced by rural youth

Usually youths in developing countries including Ethiopia faces serious problems like;
Early marriage in Ethiopia it goes below15 age. The civil code of Ethiopia for marriage
was women; 15 and men; 18. But; it is revised to men 21-22, women 18 years. But
culturally marriage is below this range.

Lack of training /education; it refers most youths are facing inadequate training and
education that enables them to decide on their life issues. The blocking factors that hinder
them from training and education are;
1) A, the economy forced them to not learn
2) B, Harmful practice (abduction) especially for women
3) Finally it become the effect for unemployment
Lack of opportunity and representatives; the literate person does not give the opportunity
to youth to form a group and are fewer representatives of them.
Lack of motivation
Landlessness; the reason for landlessness are due to population pressure, then youth shift
to marginal land that lacks fertility and due to this they lack job opportunity.
Using alcohol and drugs; It is a bad habit which leads to murder and crime
Burdened with special obligations (It includes early marriage)
4.3. Organization of youth

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The first attempt of organization of youth started in 1954 when extension movement was
started .and also the graduates from ambo agricultural college initiate and organize
agricultural youth club. In Teachers training college of Harar there were graduates in
agriculture to organize the youth clubs in agriculture. The other is Revolutionary
Ethiopian Youth Development Association (REYDA) which was established in 1980.
There were ideological and political supports in this time. Some of the attempts and
activities of revolutionary Ethiopian youth development association are; Literacy
campaign, social services, recreational service and military service. It was a very
powerful and effective program, but there were forcing from ideological and political
views.

Rural youth clubs

Club is a well organized form of people with the help of extension agents. It has four
purposes; Educational (techniques, skills), Economical, Recreational and Social (ethics,
cultural).

The way of organizing the people involves the following activities;

1. Contact with the people
2. Contact the community leader; it involves the following doings
3. Call for a meeting the volunteer and potential people, discuss with the group, identify
the problems and setting the clear objectives.
4. Membership (participation of the people)
5. It concerns on selecting the members, selecting the officials, and selecting the leaders.
And finally fix the meeting place and time.
6. Continue with the club with different activities; Youths can receive new idea and can
understand easily.
4.4. Developing programs for the rural youth

There are four types of objectives of the programs

 Leadership development
 Sense of citizenship
 Personal development
 Career development
The types of rural youth programs needed for one place may be different from those
needed in other, but the objective of the program tends to be similar.

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1. Leadership development

Youth programs are generally nurtured by continuing and voluntary adult leadership in
the community. Young men and women develop leadership skill by learn from the older
experience and latter on by taking leadership roles by themselves.

In this process youth learns how to organize and operate a program and they will teach
the others.

2. Citizenship development

It is used in promoting national identity and consciousness to community orientation and

development. Rural youth program should seek to encourage youths to become involved
in improving the community.

3. Personal development

The youth programs have asocial intervention for developing social skills of the
youngsters from government.

Includes taking in front of the others, working with others in a community which has low
status of agricultural and rural life. The above activity will develop youth organization
and group solidarity.

4. Career and occupational development

The young men and women should acquiring technical and management skills in
production. Youth programs make the youngsters to establish their own farming
activities, by experiencing agricultural management skills through project. Project works
helps youths to increase the utilization of improved technologies for promoting the higher
quality and quantity of agricultural production.

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