COURSE ID : ISS-2101-1516

COURSE NAME : The Making of Development:

Histories, Theories and Futures

LECTURER : Dr. Wendy Harcourt & Dr. Roy Huijsmans

TITLE OF PAPER:
Gender

WORD COUNT:
997

STUDENT ID:
441865ef
 Gender

Gender talk is everywhere, says Pearson (cited in Smyth 2010: 144), yet the term gender
remains one of the most confusing and misunderstood words in development discourse. Gender is
defined here as the psycho-social, political-cultural, scientific and economic reading of sexual
difference that informs all human relations (Harcourt 2009: 14).
The creation of gender as a social construction whereby human beings are classified
according to their genitalia and are consequently expected to perform according to dominant
norms of masculinity violent, aggressive, independent or femininity tender, caring, passive
can be traced back to Renaissance Europe (Lugones 2008). With the expansion of European
colonialism, these powerful normative gender classifications were imposed upon the rest of the
world and the human body became the basis of social roles, inclusionsthe foundation of social
thought and identity (Oyewm 1997: x).
Gender is an integral part of the social, economic, political and cultural dynamics at play in
every level of the development process. Institutions around the world operate along strong
gendered hierarchies, with women holding far fewer leadership positions in government and
industry than men. Development policy has a tendency to reflect the powerful heteronormative
divisions of man and woman, keeping subjects at a distance and treating them as neat
categories necessary for log frames, monitoring tools, and management systems (Smyth 2010:
148), ignoring the complex nature of their lives and relationships. Professionals doing gender
often encounter difficulties in mainstream development organisations which can be indifferent or
even hostile to gender issues (Cornwall et al. 2007: 2). In response to gender concerns being
overlooked in development arose the notion of gender mainstreaming, the idea that gender
should be mainstreamed into all programmes and initiatives in order to tackle gender-based
prejudices and biases. Smyth (2010) explains how this led in practice to a decline in resources
dedicated to projects explicitly addressing womens disadvantage, on the assumption that gender
concerns have been mainstreamed thereby negating the need for gender-specific action.
Gender is an important term in critical analyses of other development concepts such as
race and class. Early feminism tended to isolate gender from other social categories, seeing
womens experience as a universally shared norm, however this assumption was challenged by
those who felt that these feminist representations centred around a US- and England-based white
middle-class specificity (Ray 2012: 8), and ignored the diversity of experiences faced by working-
class women, women of colour and women located in the global south. More recently, feminists
such as Mara Lugones (2008) have stressed that gender does not operate in isolation but is best
understood at the intersection with a multitude of other social relations such as race, class, age,

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sexuality and geo-politics. As a white, British, privileged, cisgender female in my late-twenties, I am
aware that I may not see issues of gender in the same way as an elderly woman living in poverty in
a developing country. Yet though gender is not a universal experience, it has real and multiple
effects on peoples lives; cultural norms dictate that women like me are expected to abide by
certain standards of behaviour and appearance.
Gender issues are prevalent in many major international development problems, from
reproductive rights and maternal health to sexual war violence. A clear example of the centrality of
gender to development is the gendered division of labour and the different relationship of men
and women to the labour market in urban China. Supply chains in the globalised economy have
increased the need for workers in labour-intensive export industries within which employment is
characterised by informality, flexiblisation and low pay. Due to their supposed dexterity, patience,
docility (Kabeer 2008: 86) and willingness to undertake low status, temporary jobs (Cook and
Jolly 2010: 97), young women are preferred workers in the new industries in fast-growing
economies like China. Cook and Jolly (2010) conducted research in three major Chinese cities and
found that labour market vulnerability affects women far more than men: women are laid-off in
larger numbers and are less likely to find formal re-employmentThey are often given early
retirement at ages as young as 40they come to view themselves, as too old to make a useful
contribution to society (p.82). In response to redundancy, many women entered a period of
desperate struggle, frantically searching for sources of income for their families, whilst
simultaneously continuing to perform their expected reproductive care roles within the household.
This example highlights the extent to which unequal and unjust gender roles and relations
perpetuate poverty and drive inequality (Kabeer & Sweetman 2015: 187). Development policy has
so far inadequately addressed the risks that come with labour market insecurities in the globalised
economy and the accompanying gendered prejudices impacting womens lives. Adequate solutions
require pro-people economic reforms and state provision of effective welfare that comprehends
the roles and responsibilities of women in and outside the home. Alternative solutions lie in the
formation of resistance movements and employee support networks, as is happening around the
globe with instances of women workers arranging child care, creating self-help groups and pooling
savings as ways to safeguard their livelihoods (Harcourt 2009: 89).
Ultimately, we must unmake the outmoded gender stereotypes and resist the rigid
classifications imposed upon us. Harcourt (2009) suggests the need to challenge the fixed binaries
of man and woman, and recognise that gendered bodies exist along a continuum from male to
female with various permutations in between (p.16). Moving beyond heteronormative standards
would allow greater acceptance of those who may not identify with constructed gendered norms.
There are signs of change, including Germanys introduction of a no gender box on birth

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certificates and Indias legal recognition of a third gender. It is necessary to critique gendered
institutional hierarchies and to consider intersectional perspectives surrounding gender as well as
race, class and ethnicity when it comes to policy-making. Greater intertwining of gender with
development can serve to expose womens and mens layered and complex lives and roles,
recognizing that all people are valued social and economic subjects embedded in their own
cultures (Harcourt 2009: 204).

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References
Cook, S. and Jolly, S. (2010) Gender, Work and Security in Urban China: The Reconstruction of
Identity as Laid-off Worker, in S. Cook and N. Kabeer (eds) Social Protection as Development
Policy: Asian Perspectives, pp. 80-113. New Delhi: Routledge.

Cornwall, A., E. Harrison and A. Whitehead (2007) Gender Myths and Feminist Fables:
The Struggle for Interpretive Power in Gender and Development, Development and Change 38(1):
1-20.

Harcourt, W. (2009) Body Politics in Development: Critical Debates in Gender and Development.
London and New York: Zed Books.

Kabeer, N. (2008) Mainstreaming Gender in Social Protection for the Informal Economy. London:
Commonwealth Secretariat.

Kabeer, N. and C. Sweetman (2015) Introduction: Gender and Inequalities, Gender & Development
23(2): 185-188.

Lugones, M. (2008) The Coloniality of Gender, Worlds and Knowledges Otherwise 2(2): 1-17.

Oyewm, O. (1997) The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender
Discourses. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Ray, R. (2012) Introduction: The Politics of Knowledge Gender Scholarship and Womens
Movement in India, in R. Ray (ed.) Handbook of Gender, pp. 1-21. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Smyth, I. (2010) Talking of Gender: Words and Meanings in Development Organisations, in A.

Cornwall and D. Eade (eds) Deconstructing Development Discourse: Buzzwords and Fuzzwords, pp.
143-151. Warwickshire: Practical Action Publishing in association with Oxfam GB.