Women and the Third World Development

8/3/2019 Women and the Third World Development

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WOMEN AND THE THIRD

WORLD DEVELOPMENT


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A BACKGROUND

Women comprise more than half theworld's population, constitute 70% of the

world's poor, 2/3 are not taught to read

and write. Less likely to receive medical services,

clean water, sanitation, and other benefits

LDCs with female-headed householdsare among the poorest in the population


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Women have less access to education,

formal-sector employment, social security,

and government employment programs Educational gender gap greatest in the

poorest countries and regionally in the

Middle East and North Africa Often barred from higher-paying

occupations; frequently restricted to low-

productivity jobs; experience higherdependency burdens


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In many regions, there is a strong biasagainst females in various areas

Perseverance of low levels of living

among women & children yield to a loweconomic status of women

Womens control over household income

and resources is limited


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Government programs designed toalleviate poverty frequently work

almost exclusively with men

Typically ineligible for institutionallyprovided resources such as credit and

training


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WOMEN WITH DEVELOPMENT

Up until the 1960s, women were merelyseen as quiet recipients and passivebeneficiaries of development.

The emphasis was on assisting women tobecome better mothers and this was

met by providing food aid, measures

against malnutrition and family planning(Moser, 1993:62).


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Soon enough, female participation

rates in education and training programs,formal-sector employment, and agricultural

extension programs increased

Empirical evidence shows that educationaldiscrimination against women hinders

economic development in addition to

reinforcing social inequality


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Closing the educational gender gap by expanding

educational opportunities for women is economically

desirable because of the following:

1. Rate of return on womens education is higher than that

on mens in most developing countries

2. Increase in productivity on the farm and in the factory3. Greater labor force participation

4. Later marriage and lower fertility

5. Great improvement in child health and nutrition

6. Breaks the cycle of poverty and inadequate schoolingthrough improvements in role and status via education


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Studies from around the developing

world consistently show that expansionof basic education of girls earns amongthe very highest rates of return in any

investment Education of girls has also been shown

to be one of the most cost-effective

means of improving local healthstandards


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WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT

These conflicting views on developmenthave added to the problem ratherthan the solution.

The viewpoints of the different un-official actors in development,

particularly poor women, have been

left out from the mainstream develop-ment policy.


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Instead, economics as a discipline hasplayed an influential role in shaping

development thought. However,

economists have generally ignored

feminist concerns by simply assuming

that gender biases do not exist.


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Orthodox economics identifies lack ofeconomic advancement as the root

cause of underdevelopment without

considering other factors like class, andregional and cultural differences. This

illustrates the gender-blindness of

orthodox development.


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Another school of thought that has driven develop-

ment in the recent decades is the political economy

school.

The orthodox school does not see deprivation as the

result of unequal power between classes, regions and

nations, but as resulting from deficiencies in economicfunctioning. [O]ne key concept and strategy of this

school emphasizes economic growth as a way to

eradicate poverty, which in turn can be subcategorized

into two general developmental streams: growth firsttrickle down later, and growth with equity (Sittirak,

1999:8).


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Political economists are more concerned with the

nature of the process by which growth is achieved.

The key characteristics of this school can be readily

identified by applying Paulo Freires question

regarding the educational process to the developmentprocess: Are people (or classes) and nations objects

of development under someone elses control or are

they subjects of development, in control of their own

destiny? (Sittirak, 1998:8)


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In both schools, development has been

about men, by men and for menpolicy-makers did not see women (Kabeer, 1999: xi).

Womens work was invisible to economists

who equate productivity with a cash

economy and, as a result, womens domestic

work and subsistence food production are

viewed as unproductive.

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Women and the Third World Development