For many years now the global community has been concerned with bridging the gap between the more developed countries and the less developed countries. To bridge the development gaps many different policies have been implemented in hopes of elevating the less developed countries to a higher level. Despite the best efforts of the global community, the policies that aim to promote development have not been completely successful. Among the problems found with this generic one-size fits all approach to development is the trend of treating development as gender-neutral is quite common. The role that gender plays in development are not considered when the global community, namely the World Bank and The International Monetary Fund or IMF, create policies …show more content…
These policies are constructed by the macro-economic concept of looking at the economy as a whole rather than the individual (Elson, 1). This approach is inherently imbued with “male-bias” that results in “unfair distribution of the burdens of the burdens of stabilization and structural adjustments that are necessary for a country to develop (Elson, 1). Development policies fail to acknowledge that gender plays a large role when it comes to development since the policies that are implemented affect men and women very differently. This rather generic approach treats development as being gender-neutral when in fact it is not. Failing to acknowledge the rather large influence that gender has on the development process is a costly mistake that global institutions keep making in their development …show more content…
In order to correct this mistake policy makers like the World Bank and the IMF need to supplement their current development measures, which are largely macro-level, with micro-level studies that specifically focus on how the implemented structural adjustments are affecting men and women of various income levels (Kabeer). By supplementing the current measures, misleading results that may point to successful policy implementation can be avoided. One example of such a false measure of development is in the case of Zambia where health per capita expenditure decreased by sixteen percent between 1983 and 1985 (Kabeer). On paper the numbers pointed to an increase in health care efficiency and the policy, implementation could be called successful. Upon closer examination through a micro-level study found that while the health care costs went down the costs of the individual for health care went up. The cost for the individual largely fell upon women who saw an increase in unpaid labor that they now had to undertake in order to provide health care to their households, which takes the time away that, could be used to participate in paid labor. Furthermore, when conducting micro-level studies special attention should be paid to any structural discrimination towards women that could potentially inhibit development. This false perception of success at the cost of
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) defines gender mainstreaming as: “a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality" (ECOSOC, 1997).
The focus of this week assignment is to discuss the interactions of gender, ethnicity, and identity development. In addition I will discuss the role of stereotyping and how it influence male and female gender identity. In conclusion I will discuss the impact that ethnicity and gender have on children when it comes to choosing between the ethnic identity of their family of origin and their culture.
In this essay, I will be discussing the statement “Gender Inequalities exist and removing them is fundamental to development”. I will focus on how continents compare in their overall rankings taking in consideration health & survival, education, economic participation and political empowerment, with including a case study for an LEDC and MEDC country.
Each country has different aspects that they focus on depending on their culture and beliefs. However, the most common theme around the world was the wage gap and domestic violence for women. According to the “Violence against Women” article 1 and 3 women experience violence by intimate partners worldwide (Violence against Women, 2016, pg. 1). Unfortunately, this has increased the global rate of intimate partners who have committed murders of women to 38% (Violence against Women, 2016, pg. 1). These are significate numbers, yet worldwide women are being treated worse than men are treated. The same goes for the wage gap. In the United States it is hard for a women to get a job as a CEO or high ranking yet 56.3% of women 15 years or older were working according to the Gender Inequality Index in 2013. This relates directly to a global wage gap and glass ceiling placed on women worldwide because the Gender Inequality Index states that worldwide 50.3% of women 15 and older were working in the work force. However, they were being paid less and were less likely to get promotions when compared to men. The fact that women in other countries are married at younger ages and having children also puts them at a disadvantage because they are mothers meaning they will be paid less for having children. Gender stratification is not just an Untied States problem, but a worldwide problem that needs to be
According to Hochschild, “attitudes toward men’s and women’s roles have been referred to as gender ideologies” (as cited in Helgeson, 2012, p. 68). There are currently three different gender role ideologies that can be measured through the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (ATWS). The three ideologies include egalitarian, the belief that men and women should equally share in both household and workforce duties, traditional, the belief that women only do housework and men only are in the workforce, and transitional, the belief that it is okay for women to enter the workforce, however, they still do proportionally more household duties. Cultural differences also affect individuals’ gender role attitudes, depending on how “expectations for men and
...ntries women are restricted in where they can and cannot work. Most commonly, they seem to be restricted from jobs in which physically taxing tasks are the norm. This is no doubt due to the stereotype that women are fragile and weak and must be protected (a stereotype that can hold true, but that is not always true). This also seems to be consistent across culture. However, despite the fact that these restrictions were enacted to protect women, they place heavy limitations on women’s opportunities. Furthermore, these are not the only injustices many women across the world face. However, the only way to fight these injustices is to increase women’s participation in politics, as discussed in the UN report from 2008. It is absolutely vital that women be able to actively participate in politics without letting gender discrimination and stereotypes get in the way.
Freud makes a claim for the formation of femininity through his explanation of psychical development during child sexuality. He explains that he does not wish to give an account for who a women is but only how she becomes feminine from her bisexual tendencies. Freud femininity theory raises speculation since develops it within the context of masculinity. He claims a girl’s turning point in her sexuality is when she realizes she has been castrated and develop a penis envy. This raises concerns since it automatically places the male, at least the male organs, at a hierarchal advantage. Nevertheless, Freud’s theory can be justify within a social-psychological perspective, considering a girl is face with disadvantage and inequality from a social perspective which build in her a psychical inferiority which leads her to the conclusion that lacking a penis makes her inferior.
Gender is defined as, “The social and psychological aspects of being male or female” (King 312). Gender is formed by two parts: The development of the physical body and the understanding of mental gender roles. Gender Roles are, “Roles that reflect the individual’s expectations for how females and males should think, act and feel” (King 313). Gender roles are behaviors that are considered to be socially appropriate for a specific gender. They define how males and females should interact with others. Gender roles are influenced by many things, including parents, teachers, television, movies, music, books, and religion. Gender roles and gender development are created and altered by a mix of cultural, cognitive and social areas.
According to the United Nations Social Policy and Development Division, inequalities within income distribution, access to information, productive resources, basic social services, and markets, causes poverty to be exacerbating. Gender discrimination is one of the main factors in holding women and children around the world in poverty.
Social Construction of Gender is a process, stratification system and structure. The day to day interactions emphasize gender as opposites. Take for instance, conversations, formalities of daily life, sayings, and so on. The social construction of gender is created through social interaction – through the things we do and say with other people. This means that gender it is not a fixed or inherent fact, but instead it varies across time and place.
Many factors and components contribute to gender development in individuals. The following paper details four theoretical approaches-biological, interpersonal, cultural, and critical, and the role each play in determination of a human’s gender development. In addition, a brief explication of each theory is most significant as well as the most feasible in regards to gender development.
The inequality of genders is a factor to the issue of poverty. Many nations are trying their best to fix the issue of gender inequality. Gender inequality is very visible in the primary and secondary levels of education in Ghana. The amount of boys always tends to outnumber the girls. Due to the fact that many women do not have any educational background, they either end up trading or get engaged in agriculture activity. In sub-Saharan Africa, women are barely recognized in issues that are non-agriculture. About 64% of women are mainly employed in the agriculture sector. The low employment level of women makes poverty a stronghold in the household of women. Women tend to not get enough income to support themselves and their families, especially when they are single parents or the man is unemployed. Women also tend to face low employment rates, and those with a good education, who have the chance of being employed, rarely get the opportunity. The women who are lucky enough to get employed are rarely promoted due to their
“In recent decades, there has been a growing awareness of the need to increase gender equality throughout the world. Strategies to achieve this end have focused on empowering women in social, educational, economic,
Gender empowerment is refers women’s and men’s ability to participate in economic and political life and their command over economics resources. Women who played determine role in development of humanity, incomplete without the empowerment of women. Women constitute approximately half of the world’s population so as half potential. Present scenario needs women-led development.
...ds & Gelleny, 2007). Moreover, the status of women is independent on policy adjustments in developing countries. Governments in developing countries should organize an economically and political stable environment, to be economically attractive (Maxfield, 1998 as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Other critics state governments are forced to cut expenditures in education and social programs. This phenomenon especially affects women (Ayres and McCalla, 1997, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Since the public sector is one of the main employers of females, women are often the most disadvantaged by governmental efforts to cut expenditures in the public sector (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2004, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). As a result, women will become unemployed and unable to expanded education among themselves or their children. (Richards & Gelleny, 2007)