From WID to GAD

Abstract

"This paper sets out some of the main trends in the way women s issues have been conceptualized in the context of development over the past two decades. It begins with a discussion of the early WID (Women in Development) approach, highlighting in particular a dominant strand in WID thought that legitimated efforts to influence development policy with a combined argument for equity and economic efficiency. The emphasis on women s productive contributions, it was hoped, would convince planners to alter development practice so as to direct scarce economic resources to women. Although women s equity demands were thereby made relevant to the concerns of development planners and policy makers, the strategy also entailed a more controversial implication, one that prioritized what development needs from women over what women need from development. But WID produced more than just a political strategy; it also generated new research, including analytical evaluations of the impact on rural women of development projects. The second part of the paper examines the shift in policy discourse from WID to GAD (Gender and Development). Gender, we argue, is being used in a number of different ways. Although the analyses of gender considered in this paper share some fundamental assumptions, there are also a number of significant points at which they diverge. One of the main tensions that emerges from our comparative account is the extent to which the social connectedness or togetherness of husband and wife are given analytical weight in analyses of gender relations. According to some accounts, the interrelations between men and women have conflictual and co-operative dimensions that must be taken into consideration if a gender-aware approach to development is to be realized."(pg 1)