The poverty levels between women and men has remained high with women having higher chances of being impoverished a situation that is known as the feminization of poverty. In the 1970s Women in development emerged and were spearheaded by feminist and development agents. Other approaches like women and development emerged later as the earlier concept was criticized for its inability to address the inequalities.
Women in development are approaches that focus on developing policies that empower women and emphasize on integrating the policies to the development process. Its purpose was to integrate women into the development process. Women were previously seen as passive beneficiaries of development which was only viewed from its economic sense. Attention was placed on developing policies and practices that favor women economically. It challenged the gender roles and relations that were in place at the time. It emphasized the importance of allowing women to actively participate in development as active agents for meaningful development to be achieved.
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Under the women in development (WID) approach, the subordination of women was seen as a way of excluding them from the market and limiting their control of resources. Developing countries, for example, viewed women as second class in economic as well as political circles. Some of the countries crafted policies that sidelined women. WID assumed that women are equal the world over and therefore they had an opportunity to be involved in development. WID enhanced the understanding of the development needs of the women. It also addresses the practical needs for women to create income-generating activities. WID viewed the nonparticipation of women in development as a serious issue that needed appropriate strategies to address. Apart from the development projects with a welfare orientation, WID also focused on advocacy which stressed on equal participation in employment opportunities as well as other spheres of the society. It also tried to increase the ability of women to manage the household size through sound family planning methods. WID was, therefore, more concerned about what women could do for development purposes and not what development could do.
The concept of women and development (WAD) emerged later in the 1970s. It argued that there needs to be a development approach for women that understand the dangers of including women in a patriarchal world. It focuses on empowering women economically and need to be emancipated from poverty to enable them to contribute as well as benefit from development. It recognizes the power of women in the society based on the issues like knowledge, goals, and work. It also stresses the responsibility of women and the appreciation by the society of the role played by women. WAD considers a typical woman who is engaged in work activities and home chores as they try to improve the society. Women in developing countries for instance are actively engaged in agriculture and strive to improve the yield. Even though women engage in such productive activities, their contribution has been overlooked in development plans.
WAD tries to establish projects that are women centric and formulated to protect their interest. The marginalization of women has been the stumbling block to women transformative potential. There are also class differences among women of different ethnic groups. Women and men do not benefit from the global economic structures due to class differences and the distribution of wealth. The status of women depends on equitable structures and not a patriarchal society. It also exists from an international perspective which is discriminatory to the women on development terms. WAD ignores the social relations that exist between men and women and how they affect development.
Gender and development (GAD) was born in the 1980s. It emerged from grass root experiences as well as writings of third world feminists. Its development was fuelled by the inability of WID to institute policy changes that positively affected the lives of women and influenced the development agenda. It is concerned with addressing the root cause of inequality both gender and class that enhances the challenges faced by women. It focused on the daily problems faced by women as opposed to WID that assumes the absence of women in the development agenda and policies. It focuses on the strategic interest and takes or empowers women to be agents to improve or empower the position of women in the society. It also transforms gender relations as well as attitudes. The strategic interest of women emerges from their disadvantaged position in the society compared to that of their male counterparts. The strategic interests are long-term and aimed at improving the position of women in the society. Some of the potential approaches include empowering women to have more opportunities, equal participation in decision making and access to resources. It is necessary to consider the relations between men and women in the workplaces and other social settings. Access to equal opportunities for both men and women contributes to the emancipation of women and a decline in the inequalities.
The theoretical and policy models assume that all women are a homogeneous group from the perspective of development. Similarly, there is a general assumption that women in developing countries have similar experiences problems, needs, goals, aims, and interest. Different groups have unique needs, for example, middle-class women have unique needs from the urban and rural low-income population. Some of the development policies will affect the two groups in the same way.
Labour issues have tried to address inequality by promoting more women in the workplace and enhancing their ability to perform at a different position. Labour is thought by some as a solution to the inequality that is faced by women as it empowers them economically giving them an opportunity to earn a living and acting as a source of livelihood. There is however some disagreements on the issue of labor with some arguing that it does not guarantee a sustained source of income that will help to address the inequality. Some of the opponents have argued that creativity and entrepreneurship is the solution to the challenges faced by women.
Women in development, women, and development and GAD frameworks try to liberate, promote and empower partnership and equitable distribution of resources as well as benefits. Even though women have not taken up development, some actively participate in financial budgeting and management. Some initiatives try to empower women by giving them credit facilities and other training to empower them financially and therefore to promote their well being. The three frameworks have led to the recognition of women enhanced decision making and formulation of appropriate laws that empowers their position in the society. They also focused on the structural factors in the society. The three laid a foundation for gender equality and improvement in the life of women in developing countries. However, they have their weaknesses as they try to explain the concept.
