Dr. Susan P. MurphyTrinity College Dublin

Ireland

ContentEvolution of gender mainstreaming in

development practiceFrom margins to mainstream – gender and the

MDGsProblems in research and practice

Drivers of discriminationOrigins of inequalityDynamics of gender relations

Implications for gender-based researchBeyond checklists and head-counting

Post 2015 SDG agendaGender and education

Women in developmentSince UN Commission on the Status of

Women in 1946:matters related specifically to women have

been a core dimension of discussions on development and global poverty eradication,

justified on the evidence-based arguments that greater empowerment is instrumentally valuable to development;

and to a lesser extent, on reason-based arguments that development generates intrinsic benefits to women, as human beings of equal moral value

2013 Report – UN High Level Panel of Eminent Persons ‘The next development agenda must

ensure that in the future neither income nor gender, nor ethnicity, nor disability, nor geography, will determine whether people live or die, whether a mother can give birth safely, or whether her child has a fair chance in life’ (2013: 7).

How is this different from the MDG commitments?

What does this say about 20 years of gender mainstreaming (post Beijing 1995)?

Emerged from the women in development (WID) policy approaches widely adopted by development organizations in the 1980sIntegrate women into economic development

Central to Beijing Platform for Action (1995)Equality and women’s empowerment central

to human developmentStates need to make radical changes to

achieve equality and promote empowerment

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What is ‘gender mainstreaming’?

“Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension 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 is to achieve gender equality”. (UN Report for the economic and social council. 1997: 1)

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UN definition

Evident in some definitionsInstitutionalization of gender concerns …. to

ensure a ‘transformation of the organizations attitudes and culture

Gender empowerment through women’s participation in decision-making processes, enabling women to have their voices heard, giving them power to put issues on the agenda (Moser 2012: 439-440)

Designed to tackle both implicit and explicit forms of discrimination and exclusion

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Two further aspects

A dual strategy of mainstreaming gender-equality issues into all policies, programmes, and projects (the Integrationist approach), combined with context-specific supporting targeted actions for gender equality (the stand-alone approach)

Gender analysis (sex disaggregated data and gender analytical information)

Women, as well as men, playing an active role in decision making processes to influence the development agenda

Organisational capacity-building and gender trainingGender sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems and

tools (Moser 2012: 440)

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Gender mainstreaming Policy

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Gender mainstreaming in Theory

MDG Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Target – eliminate gender disparity in primary and

secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

Measurements also include – political participation; paid employment

Also MDG 1 - Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger MDG 2 – achieve universal primary education MDG 4 – reduce child mortality MDG 5 – improve maternal health (since 2005 –

universal access to reproductive health) MDG 6 – combat HIV/Aids MDG 7 – environmental sustainability

Target 10 access to clean water and sanitation Target 11 – improvement in the lives of at least 100

million slum dwellers 10

From margins to mainstream

In practiceMDG period saw some successes:

improved health outcomes, increased numbers of women in the formal economy, and increased enrolment rates in education at primary level

However….Lives and status of women has not seen a dramatic

transformationWomen continue to be more vulnerable to extreme poverty,

malnutrition, ill health, lower educational outcomes and higher incidents of violence.

Women continue to carry greatest responsibility for reproduction, care, subsistence food provision, and household tasks

Women continue to be under-represented in leadership roles both in the public institutions and private organisations.

‘Away streaming’ – (Mukhopadhyay 2004). That isUsed as an argument to stop ‘stand-alone’

projects and interventions. Reduces financial and institutional resources

specifically allocated to women’s needsAccording to Hivos, this has resulted in a

‘reduction in gender expertise, capacity and advocacy’ (2007: 11)

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Problems with mainstreaming approach

Controlling for GMIt is a challenge for all organizations to assess the

impact of gender mainstreaming on the lives of women and girls, men and boys…. whose lives are altered profoundly by all sorts of change taking place beyond the planned interventions of governments and development organizations.

Opening Pandora’s boxThe gender division of labour within the

household The ‘black box’ in contemporary mainstream economic

modelling of non-market based production (Susan Moller Okin, 2003)

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Problems with Gender based research

Ramya Subrahmanian (2007) – ‘key criticism about GM has been the “narrowness” of

the strategy despite the complexity of gender relations and the contextual variations in the process and outcomes related to gender inequalities’ (2007: 113)

Monitoring and evaluationDifficult, if not impossible to distinguish impact of GM

from other changes occurring beyond planned interventions.

‘Smart economics’Only supported by some due to its instrumental value,

rather than the intrinsic value of equality and women’s empowerment

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And more…

Failed to tackleHidden power and prevalence of discrimination

Key distinction between explicit and implicit discrimination – Implicit discrimination has escaped challenge Stiglitz 2012 – Cognitive Capture Duflo 2012 – Implicit bias

Hermeneutical gaps Sweetman 2012 - The leadership of key development

organizations which shape our world is still overwhelmingly rich and male. Women’s priorities and perspectives are still missing from key decision-making bodies

Miranda Fricker – hermeneutical injustices

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Problems in theory & practice

From gender back to women?On the one hand some argue that the focus on gender has

Cornwall, Harrison, and Whitehead, have argued that the term ‘gender’ has neutralised the political content of feminist struggles, acting as a ‘technical fix’ (2007: 9) in development projects and programmes.

Such a technocratic approach depoliticised and de-radicalised the feminist struggle for the empowerment of women.

They argue that the term gender has ‘fallen from favour and has a jaded, dated feel to it. Diluted, denatured, depoliticised, included everywhere as an afterthought... (2007: 6-7).

Thus, they call for a move away from the concept of gender, to refocus on the specific needs of women (Mannell 2012; Cornwall, Harrison, and Whitehead 2007 & 2008).

On the other handSome argue that this would represent a step backwards

Caroline Moser - there is a need for a shift away from ‘women’s issues’ and incorporate issues that relate to women and men, girls and boys. ‘Such gender disparities can then cross-cut with other types of diversity such as those based on age, ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation’ (2012, 442).

Focusing on gender allows for an examination of other factors such as ethnicity, age, class and so on, how they can interact and can generate new forms of inequality (Dhamoon, 2011, Sandler and Rao 2012; Ndesamburo , Flynn, and French 2012; van Eerdewijk and Dubel 2012; Derbyshire 2012; Chant and Sweetman 2012, Unterhalter, 2012).

Broadening the research agenda:Moser 2012: Appropriate quantitative and qualitative

indicators to assess progress in GM to include 2 components Implementation: measured in terms both of the integration of

women’s and men’s concerns throughout the development process and in terms of specific activities aimed at empowering women.

Outputs and impacts: measured in terms of equality and empowerment of women; impact and change for men

Unterhalter 2012: move beyond headcounting towards deeper examinations of norms, beliefs, and socially constructed challenges and opportunities for social change through integration of the ‘intersectionality’ approach to GBR

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Pathway to progress

Broadening the focus of practiceGreater consideration of gender dynamics within the

household and the personal / local drivers of inequality (of access, of opportunity, of resources and so on) Targeted action to reduce / remove the role of violence as

a method of social control Increased consideration of the gendered division of labour

in non-market based productive activities. Access to land; energy, finance, and the Factors of

DevelopmentBroadening the focus of policy

Shift towards the language of linkages rather than narrow goals and targets to reflect and target the relational dynamic of gender, rather than gender as a static category

Recognizing the role of education Perpetuation of discrimination or platform for social

transformation; Reinforcing or challenging social norms? Critically examine if it aims towards ‘transformative’ agency

or ‘effective’ agency? (Kabeer 2005) Transformation would require

Focusing on girls and boys, and different social identifiers that may influence a child’s life chances

Examining curriculum, assessments, and management to enhance and support a child’s agency ;

Gender study centres leading in 1) the delivery of teaching across the disciplines and 2) continued research into the constructions and relational dynamic of gender in local and global contexts

‘Education [both teaching and research] is both a systemic source of gender oppression and a means of

ending it’. (Enslin and Mary 2006)

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Education: Beyond Access

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Thank you.

All thoughts, comments, and questions are most welcome.

Susan.p.murphy@tcd.ie

Appendix

GOAL 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhereGOAL 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition andpromote sustainable agricultureGOAL 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all agesGOAL 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learningopportunities for allGOAL 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girlsGOAL 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for allGOAL 7 Ensure access to a!ordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for allGOAL 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productiveemployment and decent work for allGOAL 9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization andfoster innovationGOAL 10 Reduce inequality within and among countriesGOAL 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainableGOAL 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patternsGOAL 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*GOAL 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainabledevelopmentGOAL 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainablymanage forests, combat deserti"cation, and halt and reverse land degradation andhalt biodiversity lossGOAL 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provideaccess to justice for all and build e!ective, accountable and inclusive institutions atall levelsGOAL 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership forsustainable development