Gender and Development

(made easy)

OBJECTIVES
1. To attain basic understanding of gender and how it affects development.
To generate appreciation of GAD concepts and principles as tools for development planning.

2.

COVERAGE
I. II. WHAT is DEVELOPMENT? WHAT is GENDER?

III. WHAT are GENDER ISSUES? IV. WHAT is GAD?

I. WHATS DEVELOPMENT?

Development: Whats the bottomline?

Development is about attaining a full and satisfying life for all Attaining a full and satisfying life for all is a shared responsibility
- of everyone- regardless of age, sex, religion, ethnicity or class
- of the government as duly mandated authority - of all individuals and entities who benefit from development or are affected by the lack of it

What underlies the performance of this responsibility?

For individuals the performance of this responsibility requires:

a) b) the capacity to do; and the capacity to be

The capacity to do means ability or power

to do productive and satisfying work

to have control over ones income and benefit from it

to enjoy nature and the natural environment

 to procreate and rear children

to care for others to travel in search for opportunities

The capacity to be meansa right and opportunity

to be knowledgeable and skillful to be well-nourished to be confident of own abilities

to be comfortable with achievements, independence and power

For governments, the responsibility to promote the attainment of a better life for all means a) b) helping people develop their abilities and individual strengths protecting peoples rights and creating opportunities for the development of peoples abilities and individual strengths

II. WHATS GENDER?

Gender is very much related to sex and many people are often confused about the distinction between sex and gender.

A good starting point is, therefore,

to conceptually differentiate SEX and GENDER

SEX: a natural distinguishing variable

It is concerned with differentiating people based on biological attributes, such as:
physical - body contour, features, genitals, reproductive organs genetic - chromosomes, hormones label - female or male; man or woman

SEX is universal, fixed, and is a valid distinguishing variable.

GENDER: a cultural, contrived distinguishing variable

It is concerned with differentiating people based on perceptions, roles, and social expectations

It is learned or acquired, and changes from country to country or through time

It is concerned about feminity or masculinity

Problems begin when their confusion find its way into decisions affecting:
resource allocation

assignment of roles and responsibilities

transactional processes problem analysis

Feminine
Weak, emotional, secondary, cant think No hard work, no leadership, not a boss, no decision-making Stay at home, just obey, dont assert, dont participate in deciding

Masculine
Strong, rational, primary, cant feel Hard work, leader, boss, no care-giving

perception

roles

expectations

Dont make women do hard work, always be smart, get the best, dont cry

Globally, women and men are boxed into situations ---- which constrain their

capacity to do and to be
And hinder their potential to attain a full and satisfying life

Productive-Reproductive Divide

Productive work politics paid visible valued

Reproductive
child birth/rearing home management family care unpaid invisible not valued

III. WHATS GENDER ISSUES?

Gender issues pertain to beliefs, ideas, attitudes, behavior, systems and other factors that block peoples capacity to do and to be

Gender issues affect everybody, men or women, rich or poor, young or old, etc. in all spheres of life.

THEY AFFECT MEN

GENDER BIASES AGAINST MEN

Inherently aggressive and violent
Dont feel pain or incapable of experiencing human emotions Inherently expressive in their sexuality Dont need closeness, reassurance, and attention

PERSONAL

WOMENS GENDER ISSUES

Gender issues are deterrents to development. Thus, it is important to address them in development planning.

IV. WHATS GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT?

Then, what is GAD?

1. GAD is about recognizing that gender biases impede development because:

they prevent people from attaining their full potentials (which will enable them to become effective contributors to development)

 they exacerbate social inequity and inequality which are the very end goals of the MTPDP
they distort understanding of social realities and limit the impacts of development inputs

GAD is about removing explicit, implicit, actual and potential gender biases
in the organizations; and PPAs

Of those who are concerned with development

GAD is about being faithful to the principle that

Fairness and equity demands that everyone in society, whether male of female, has the right to the same opportunities to achieve a full and satisfying life.

But why focus more

on women?

Eliminating gender inequalities leads to significant productivity gains, provides large societal benefits and enhances poverty reduction scheme
-World Bank

First, women are half of the

countrys population. As such, they
are half of the producers of economic goods and services

but

 they are in the invisible and marginalized sector or the so-called non-money economy - bearing and raising children - domestic and unpaid economic labor - subsistence agriculture

Second, they are already in the

money economy
informal sector wage employment

trading

but, in being so, they experience a lot of hardships

multiple roles
violence and sexual harassment

lack of protection
exploitation

poor skills
discrimination

women have unique stakes, roles and insights to share in order to attain development objectives, such as in: sustaining the environment

Third,

managing population growth

imparting values that have profound impacts on human progress and economic development

And most importantly, because resources and opportunities for attaining a full and satisfying life are NOT ALWAYS THE SAME for women and men. These are determined by:
SEX - child bearing GENDER - beliefs about what women CANT DO OR SHOULD DO

Why us?

Everyone who believes in the vision of

attaining a full and satisfying life for all has an obligation to help pursue GAD

We are custodians of peoples trust and

resources. We have the power, knowledge, skills and resources to make development work for everybody

We are mandated by international

treaties/commitments, laws and policies

Gender issues affect all of us.

But

instead of solving them, we all contribute to their perpetuation.

Where do we go from here?

A) Personal

check personal gender biases look at everyone and deal with them as human, not as women/men, male/female, girls/boys

 critique books of young children examine assignment of roles at home and correct gendered patterns

B)

Professional
disaggregate data by sex

attain balance in various positions (esp. top and decision-making positions) stop gender discrimination in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion

 make spaces for disadvantaged men and women treat each one as equals; demolish hierarchical social transactions adopt a GAD plan of action (review content of training programs; develop tools, conduct GRP, participate in inter-agency activities on GAD, etc.)