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Women and Development

Women and Development (WAD) is a theoretical and practical approach to development. It was introduced into gender-studies scholarship in the second half of the 1970s, following its origins, which can be traced to the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, organized by the UN. It is a departure from the previously predominant theory, WID (Women in Development) and is often mistaken for WID, but has many distinct characteristics.

Theoretical Approach

WAD arose out of a shift in thinking about women’s role in development, and concerns about the explanatory limitations of modernization theory. While previous thinking held that development was a vehicle to advance women, new ideas suggested that development was only made possible by the involvement of women, and rather than being simply passive recipients of development aid, they should be actively involved in development projects. WAD took this thinking a step further and suggested that women have always been an integral part of development, and did not suddenly appear in the 1970s as a result of exogenous development efforts a. The WAD approach suggests that there be women-only development projects that were theorized to remove women from the patriarchal hegemony that would exist if women participated in development alongside men in a patriarchal culture, though this concept has been heavily debated by theorists in the field. In this sense, WAD is differentiated from WID by way of the theoretical framework upon which it was built. Rather than focus specifically on women’s relationship to development, WAD focuses on the relationship between patriarchy and capitalism. This theory seeks to understand women’s issues from the perspectives of neo-Marxism and dependency theory, though much of the theorizing about WAD remains undocumented due to the persistent and pressing nature of development work in which many WAD theorists engage.

Practical Approach

The WAD paradigm stresses the relationship between women, and the work that they perform in their societies as economic agents in both the public and domestic spheres. It also emphasizes the distinctive nature of the roles women play in the maintenance and development of their societies, with the understanding that purely the integration of women into development efforts would serve to reinforce the existing structures of inequality present in societies overrun by patriarchal interests. In general, WAD is thought to offer a more critical conceptualization of women’s position that does WID. The WAD approach emphasizes the distinctive nature of women’s knowledge, work, goals, and responsibilities, as well as advocating for the recognition of their distinctiveness. This fact, combined with a recognized tendency for development agencies to be dominated by patriarchal interests, is at the root of the women-only initiatives introduced by WAD subscribers.

Criticism

Some of the common critiques of the WAD approach include concerns that the women-only development projects would struggle, or ultimately fail, due to their scale, and the marginalized status of these women. Furthermore, the WAD perspective suffers from a tendency to view women as a class, and pay little attention to the differences among women, including race and ethnicity, and prescribe development endeavors that may only serve to address the needs of a particular group. While an improvement on WID, WAD fails to fully consider the relationships between patriarchy, modes of production, and the marginalization of women. It also presumes that the position of women around the world will improve when international conditions become more equitable. Additionally, WAD has been criticized for its singular preoccupation with the productive side of women’s work, while it ignores the reproductive aspect of women’s work and lives. Value is placed on income-generating activities, and none is ascribed to social and cultural reproduction.

Sources

Rathgeber, Eva M. 1990. “WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research and Practice.” The Journal of Developing Areas. 24(4) 289-502

Parpart, Jane L., Patricia Connelly, and Eudine Barriteau. 2000. Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Development. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

Parpart, Jane L. 1993. "Who is the "other"?: a postmodern feminist critique of women and development theory and practice". Development and Change. 24 (3): 439-464.

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