Module details Name Affiliation

Subject Name Social Work -

Paper Name Gender and Social Work (11) -

Module Module No. 17; Approaches to Gender and -

Development i: Women in Development
(WID)
Paper Coordinator Dr. Shewli Kumar and Dr. Swati Banerjee Associate Professor,
School of Social Work,
Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai

E-mail:
Shewli Kumar -
shewli4@tiss.edu

Swati Banerjee –
sbanerjee@tiss.edu
Module Writer Dr. Neha Research Officer,
National Research Study on
Human Trafficking in India
An UN-⁠NHRC-⁠TISS
initiative,
Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai

E-mail:
nehanimble87@gmail.com
Keywords Gender and Development, Women in
Development

Summary Eva Rathgeber (1990) outlined three -

major theoretical frameworks that have
guided women and development research
and practice till date. These three
distinctive frameworks are Women in
Development (WID), Woman and
Development (WAD) and Gender and
Development (GAD).The present module

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 focuses on the major features,
characteristics, evolution, development,
practice and criticism of the oldest and
most dominant of these perspectives,
WID.

Content reviewer Prof. Aruna Khasgiwala Retired Professor and Head,

MSU, Department of Social
Work, Baroda

Language editor Ms Sudha Ganapathy Manager, Publications Unit,

TISS

Introduction

To understand the emergence and current status of women in development discourse, it’s
important to chart out and monitor the shifts in the significance of women as a category over
decades. It becomes very significant to, thus, understand the various approaches to understanding
and improving women’s place in development, especially through a study of changing
perspectives of global agencies in development.

Eva Rathgeber (1990) outlined three major theoretical frameworks that have guided women and
development research and practice till date. These three distinctive frameworks are Women in
Development (WID), Woman and Development (WAD) and Gender and Development (GAD).
Considering the centrality and pervasiveness of these approaches to study and practice
development, the course has one module dedicated to each of these. The present module focuses
on the major features, characteristics, evolution, development, practice and criticism of the oldest
and most dominant of these perspectives, WID.

Learning Outcomes

The course aims to engage the students in:

1. Understanding the global historical context of development of women as a distinctive

category in development debates, policy and practice.

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 2. Developing a critical understanding of the basic features and contributions of WID
approach in the field of development.

3. Developing an understanding of how to engage with WID approach while studying or

implementing development programs from a gender lens.

Topic 1. Women in Development (WID): An overview

The term WID was first used by the Women’s Committee of the Washington, DC in their efforts
to bring the evidence brought by Boserup (in its 1970 documentation of the regressive impact of
development on women’s lives) to the attention of policy makers. WID approach came to
prominence as an approach to include women in development in the early 1970s. It calls for a
greater attention to women in development programs and seeks to integrate women into the
overall development processes and policies.

This approach adheres to the beliefs and assumptions of modernization theory of development
(for modernization theory, see box 2). WID development projects, thus, stress on pursuing
western values and economic growth. Liberal feminists also endorse the modernization theory
approach to development (For liberal feminism see box 1). Liberal feminists first began
advocating for integration of women in development as producers and workers after Boserup’s
1970 book documenting the regressive impact of development on women’s lives. Thus, WID
represents a merging of modernization and liberal feminist theories.

Box 1.

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism is the feminist theory that aims at achieving equality between women and
men and stresses on individual’s ability of ending discriminatory practices. It emphasizes on
democratic processes to achieve equality before law and in the society. It is believed that
women have the same mental capacity as men and should be given the same opportunities
and rights in political, economic and social spheres. Essentially, main principle behind
liberal feminists’ call for equality is that women must be like men. They organize women
and lobby for their rights at higher levels of law making.

This approach began in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues to be the primary
approach for various agencies till date. The proponents and activists continue to aim at
ending gender discrimination by focusing on customary and legal systems which restrict
women’s equal access and rights in the public sphere. The major issues that have been
targeted by liberal feminists include voting rights for women, reproductive rights, education
and health care. The most prominent proponents 3 of the theory include Mary Wollstonecraft,
John Stuart Mill and Betty Friedan.
Topic 2. Origin of Women in Development

The WID approach originated in the 1970s. According to Tinker (1997), two different
conglomerations of women gave rise to the impetus for integrating women in development
programmes. These included, the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the US women’s
movement. While the Commission sought equality before law and pressed for greater access to
education for women, the US women activists pressed for right to equal employment which was
seen as the best way to achieve equal status for women as the society gave ultimate importance
to income and employment status. Both groups, however, sought policy change in the US. These
two groups came together during the UN decade for Women and advocated for women in
development.

Picture 1. women during the US women’s movement for equality.

Source: https://caitlyncerini.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/091116_r19025_p465.jpg

While the First Development Decade (1961-70) had no specific mention of women (Kabeer,
1994), in 1970, the General Assembly for the Second Development Decade included the
importance of encouraging ‘full integration of women in the total development effort’ in its plan.
This small reference in the second decade hinted at the hopes of a new consciousness (Kabeer,
1994). The discovery of Boserup’s book by the WID group in 1974, while preparing

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bibliography, was a watershed in thinking and planning about women. Tinker (1990) called it a
fundamental book for UN Decade for Women. Coinciding with various social movements and
the general questioning mood (Kabeer, 1994), this book legitimized the need for efforts to
include women in development policies and programs. WID advocates for the first time used
scholarly material to shape policy arguments at national and international levels.

Women working with WID approach continued to use the findings of Boserup. This, along with
the experience of the First Decade for Women invalidated the earlier assumptions that economic
benefits trickle down to women. This exploration led the WID women to influence the policies
of the United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID). Their efforts in the US
resulted in the Percy Amendment in 1973 which required development projects to be preceded
by gender sensitive social impact studies to effectively integrate women in national economies.
During this period, liberal feminists’ idea of equal opportunity for women was central. Some
agencies created WID offices and had WID staff in places like Canada, Scandinavia and the
Netherlands. These staff and planners initiated assessment of women’s lives and lived
experiences and collected women specific statistics to effectively enhance women’s access to
development. The goal was to improve women’s access to property, credit, education, work and
training. It was assumed that increasing women’s say in policies, their efficiency and building
women oriented policies will enhance economic development. At international level, the concern
with WID approach soon became apparent. The World Plan of Action emerging at the Mexico
Conference in 1975 set the agenda for the United Nations Decade for Women (Moser, 1993).
Across the world, offices were set up with WID staff for looking into development issues for
women.

Topic 3. Features of WID

3.1.Integration of women:

WID approach is usually appreciated for initiating and enhancing an understanding of women’s
development needs. The most significant corrective measure suggested by WID was
emphasizing on the need for women to be actively inegrated in development for an effective and
efficient development to happen. They saw women’s exclusion from market and their limited
control over productive resources as the reasons for their subordination. The proponents of WID

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actively included women in development, previously viewed as passive beneficiaries of
development processes. The developmentalists with WID approach call for such inclusion of
women in the system without actually bringing any structural change or calling for women’s own
voices for their development. Thus, WID focuses on only productive part of women’s lives.

3.2.Improved statistical measures and sex-disaggregated data:

WID called for improving statistical measures of women’s work so that a better understanding of
women’s development needs can be achieved. For the first time, sex segregated data as made
available on women’s work and development needs under WID approach (Overholt et al, 1984).

3.3.Practical needs

One of the significant features of the WID is the focus on addressing women’s practical needs
through an enhancement of opportunities for paid work. Various economic projects ensuring
credit facilities, jobs etc. were undertaken. Apart from employing advocacy strategies, many
welfare-oriented projects providing credit facilities, technology transfers and jobs were the tools
of the WID strategists and practitioners. Also, WID focused on efforts at enhancing women’s
household management and family planning skills and methods. The proponents saw women in
terms of what they could offer to achievement of development, rather than the otherwise.

3.4. Policy Change

Also, affecting policy change was primary on WID agenda. They tried to begin changes by
encouraging development planners to plan and rethink policies with keeping women in mind.
Many different strands of WID advocates have been concerned with certain primary objectives,
separately or collectively. Tinker (1997) highlights some of these which include: equality before
law, access to education; employment, empowerment and economic development.

Despite introducing women’s concerns on development agenda, WID approach has many major
limitations and thus has been subject to wide criticism by later developmentalists and feminists.
These are discussed later in the module.

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Table no. 1.

WID: A summary (excerpted from Visvanathan (1997)).

Origin Theoretical Focus Contribution Features

base

Followed by Modernisation To integrate Women’s Grounded in

the publication theory and women in issues became modernization theory
of Ester liberal economic visible in the which assumed that
Boserup’s feminism. systems through arena of women were not
book Women’s legal and development integrated in the process
Role in administrative theory and of development, it sought
Economic changes. practice. to work within the
Development Emphasis on existing social structures
in 1970s. The productive role and did not challenge
term WID was of women. them. It treated women as
articulated by a homogenous category.
Focused on productive
liberal
lives and ignored
feminists of the
reproductive lives of
US.
women.

Topic 4. The World Conferences on Women: Mexico, Copenhagen and Nairobi

Though the concept of women in development had been incorporated into UN documents even
before the first World Conference for the International Women’s Year in Mexico in 1975, the
official conferences on women were still very important for furthering and consolidating the
concept of women in development. Such UN led international meetings legitimized women’s
issues in the eyes of the state leaders and administrators at a global scale.

The conferences became very useful as the necessary documents for each conference required
member countries to submit sex-segregated data. The production of such data confronted the

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planners with the differential implication of development for women and men. Such data was
also useful for scholars working on the issues of women’s health, employment and education.
Most significantly, such large scale conferences led to organization and mobilization of women
across countries. While the participation in the conferences was limited, various meetings of
women’s NGOs and other groups were being organized on the sidelines of the official
conferences and these led to free flowing debates on women’s issues across nations. By 1985,
WID was a significant concept in the development processes affecting women. It also went
beyond being a concept and various scholars and practitioners adopted this while pushing for
their goals related to women development (Tinker, 1997).

Topic 5. Theoretical underpinnings of WID: Modernisation Theory, contributions and

critique

Development planning across the world in last many decades has been guided and framed by
liberal market models of economic growth. Liberal neo-classical economics has played crucial
and central role in the evolution of development as a study domain as well as in development
policy and practice (Kabeer, 1994). While WID approach draws from economic theories (liberal
neo classical economics and liberal market models of economic growth), its origin and evolution
lies primarily in modernization theory.

Modernisation theory (see box 1) as one of the first sociological understandings of development
tried to add social and cultural understanding to the claims of the economic theory. It sees
development as a unilinear and evolutionary process of change from a traditional pre-modern
society to a modern society. It perceives this movement in terms of various stages, each more
improved and more modern one than the previous one. The pre-modern, traditional culture,
beliefs, institutions and behaviors are seen as being impediments to the goal of being developed.
Thus, the modern societies moved from kinship and family based systems to highly
individualized systems. The achievements under modernization framework are credited to
individual efforts rather than ascribed statuses. Different modernization theorists explained this
process from pre-modern to modern using different social and economic factors but they shared
the common belief in changes in culture and beliefs as pre-requisite for under-developed

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societies to become developed. They targeted the Third World countries for lacking rational
individualistic efforts and for having institutions that promote those cultural beliefs.

Offering a functional understanding of division of labor, modernisatiom theorist Talcott Parsons

suggested that as women and men are socialized into certain gender roles, it would be best for
them to take up those roles in the family and outside. As women procreate, it was seen as only
rational to specialize in domestic labor and for men to work outside in the market. Women and
men were also seen as having and acquiring different characteristics and attributes which also
justified and rationalized their division of labor within and outside home. Women were seen as
being emotional and irrational, devoid of risk taking and competitive behavior (good for taking
care of the household and its members). Men on the other hand were seen as belonging in the
market as they were believed to be objective, rational and competitive. As the world moved from
family based to market based societies, in the ‘modern’ world, women were ‘free’ to make
individual choice of entering the market. However, their roles in labor market were also to be
compatible with their roles as mothers.

Box. 2.

Modernization theory

Modernization theory is a collective of theories trying to explain the ways to achieve social
change and development of a society. This theory basically involves two different poles: the
traditional and the modern. The traditional pre-modern society with its technologically
constrained values, behaviors and beliefs leads to stagnant and unchanging social system,
thus restricting social change. It is argued that backwardness is inherent in traditional beliefs
and institutions. The other pole is the ideal modern system. The West is seen as having the
modern practices and values that lead to technological prowess, economic growth and best
forms of capitalism and democratic governance.

Centering on these two poles, this theory advocates for modernization as the key process for
development. The theory says that Western modern capitalist practices and beliefs are best
way for the Third world, underdeveloped societies to become modern and self-sustaining. It
is suggested that by following modern technological processes, adopting industrialization
and moving towards agricultural production for trade, the underdeveloped countries can
grow economically and thus become developed. It completely ignored the questions of
colonial impacts, the global systems and its inequities. The major proponents of the
modernization theory include Talcott Parsons, Walter Rostow and Daniel Lerner.

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Topic 6. WID response to the changing ‘modern’ world.

The responses of WID scholars and advocates to development from a modern view built the
basis for many shifts in development policies and how they viewed women. WID raised some
doubts over the market and economic growth led development and its effects for women.
Economic growth had failed to reduce women’s domestic drudgery and they were not sharing the
new productive resources, opportunities and technologies. Gender roles and prejudices continued
and market was also gendered in its approach to women. While WID advocates continued with
the fundamental liberal world view, they did depart from mainstream development thought. They
brought to the fore that women were not benefiting from this economic growth model. Boserup’s
book guided WID’s significant analyses of women’s productive and reproductive lives across
cultures and how despite sharing reproductive roles, their productive roles differed across
cultures. In the Third World, market preferred men as they had access to formal training and had
developed attitudes suiting the markets due to their socialization. Thus, modernization did not
help women as much in enhancing their productive lives in the Third world and led to
development of sex-based job hierarchy. The modern economy had pushed women further to the
margins of development. Lacking the much required training and qualifications (owing to their
rigid gender roles and gendered socialization), women were viewed in the economy as secondary
workers. Boserup, thus, called for better education and training opportunities for women so they
can be integrated into the competitive economy.

Further, it was sex-role theory which was criticized by the WID advocates. They claimed that it
did not have a balancing influence for women and men’s lives but rather subjected women to
inferior status within family and society. Sex role theory was a central component in
modernization theory and WID criticized it by exposing how this theory plays a damaging role in
policy making and implementation through unequal sharing of productive resources and
responsibilities between women and men, which favored men. Also, the criticism of sex-role
theory led to an emphasis on developing sex-disaggregated data for a more empirically based
data for development planning.

Also, WID advocates moved from welfare to efficiency approach and argued against associating
women as a category with one that needed welfare. The focus on women’s need shifted to a
focus on efficiency and merit (Kabeer, 1994). Rogers, in the context of the economic problems

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of the Third World, made the efficiency argument to point that women do not need development,
development needs women. The needs of development attracted development planners more than
the concern they showed for the needs of women. And WID efficiency approach gained
prominence in national and international development policies.

Topic 7. Major WID approaches for WID practitioners

For women and men working inside WID development agencies, it was difficult to know how to
integrate women in development. They used various approaches within WID paradigm. Different
thinkers have categorized and classified those approaches differently. Buvinic (1983) specified
three approaches to women in development. These included: welfare, anti-poverty and equity.
Moser (1989) added two further classifications: efficiency and empowerment. Later in 1993,
Moser used mainstreaming gender equality as another component to classify approaches to WID.
Each of these approaches put forward different responses to different sets of imperatives, but
they are neither mutually exclusive nor chronological (Kabeer, 1994). Thus, this section presents
below all the approaches to development that form a part of WID approach in general:

7.1.Welfare approach

This approach defined efforts for women in development until 1970s. Women were targeted as
mothers and wives and it was assumed that macroeconomic growth will trickle down to have
economic benefits for the poor and economic prosperity of their husbands and fathers will
positively improve the status of women. Such approach consolidated women’s position as
traditional and backward. This approach viewed women as just mothers and ignored women as
economic actors. According to Moser (1989), the welfare approach originated in the notion of
‘social welfare’ of the 19th century European Poor Laws. Thus, women were treated as being
incapable of improving themselves and needed residual welfare assistance.

7.2.The efficiency approach

This approach focused on women as largely economic actors and producers and ignored their
reproductive lives. Responding to the inadequacy of economic development programs to benefit
women, this approach worked on fundamental WID concern that programs should be
architectured in a way that integrates women’s participation in productive sphere. It was argued

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that gender analysis of gender roles in planning of development interventions made good
economic sense and helped in better results of various development projects. This approach was
criticized for focusing on women’s role in development rather than development’s role for
women.

7.3.The equity approach

This approach was popular among development advocates during the UN Decade for Women
(1976-85) and advocated for feminist organizing calling for gender equality. There was UN
backing for such organizing for equal rights and this had reasonable impact on social
legislations. This resulted in affirmation of women’s civil and political rights of women in many
countries.

7.4.The anti poverty approach

This approach was needed as women’s women only focus for equal rights in the equity approach
was meeting resistance and the interests of women had to be located within the general direction
of development. The focus of this approach was meeting people’s basic needs. Women’s
practical needs were stressed while strategic needs were sidelined.

7.5.The empowerment approach

By mid 1990s, mainstream development agencies adopted the key word, ‘empowerment’. This
approach was significant in the rise and popularisation of participatory approaches to
development planning and intervention. It called for working with women at grassroots level to
exercise their agency in deciding for their development.

7.6.Mainstreaming gender equality

Gender mainstreaming became the key term at the Beijing conference where the participant
countries acknowledged that gender equality and woman empowerment are matters of human
rights and social justice. In the context of mainstream development, this approach claims to
combine the strengths of efficiency and empowerment approach. It calls for the integration of the
concerns and experiences of women and men in all stages of development.

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Topic 8. Critique of WID

8.1. Non-confrontational approach

The WID approach has met with a lot of criticism. Firstly, it has been attacked for taking a non
confrontational approach and for not asking why women had not benefitted from development
strategies. It failed to recognize and address the role patriarchy played in the subjugation of
women. It ignored the fact that women in all societies and all classes have subordinate position
as patriarchy is the main culprit. It failed to see unequal gender relations and roles as the basis of
women's exclusion and gender subordination (Bradshaw, 2013). With focus on productive public
sphere, the larger social processes that affect women's lives and their reproductive roles remained
unchallenged under this approach.

8.2. lack of focus on women’s reproductive lives

Focusing only on productive lives, WID has restricted transformative capacities. Embedded in
modernisation theory, this perspective focused largely on productive aspects of women’s lives
while ignoring their reproductive and domestic labor. It only added to women’s workload if they
increased paid work and men didn’t share their domestic responsibilities. Solely working with
women resulted in continual of unequal gender relations as the socio-cultural practices and
structures remained the same. The fundamental questions of women’s subordinate position in
society remained unaddressed.

8.3. Flawed assumption about women’s involvement in development

Further, WID is criticized for its underlying assumption behind the call for the integration in
economy that women were not already participating in development. Such an assumption
downplays women's (particularly third world women) roles in household production and
informal economic and political activities (Koczberski, 1998).

8.4. Failure to question and address global systems and inequities

Focus on only economic issues and due to flawed assumptions, the question specific to global
inequities, the issues of Third World women and the importance of other identity categories of

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race and class in women’s lives were largely ignored. Strong critique of WID thus comes from
the Third World countries. It wrongly assumes that western institutions are the answer for all
development questions and ignores the strengths of traditional indigenous knowledges. It also
wrongly assumes that moving into modern sector and productive employment is needed for
women’s development (Razavi and Miller, 1995). This assumption implies that traditional work
roles and systems are inhibiting to women’s self-development.

8.5. Over-reliance on the State as provider of solutions

WID relied a lot on state funding and in the Third World countries women were organizing
themselves without much support from the government. Also, the NGOs were dissatisfied with
mainstream efforts at women development and worked independently of them. Working
independently, they found limited political leverage and limited funding also hindered women’s
causes. Also, it is increasingly seen that the State can also be confirming women’s subordinate
position in society but WID approach sees the State as the ultimate solution provider. Even in the
West, in most cases, women’s staff and offices were co-opted into the general development
works.

8.6. women as tools for development

Lastly, but most significantly, WID sees women’s claims as conditional and does not see them
beyond their potential to contribute to economic prosperity and overall development of the
society (Razawi and Miller, 1995). It fails to give women’s issues their due, unconditionally.

Conclusion: Way Forward

As argued by Kabeer (1994), policy and research interventions done by WID advocates and
practitioners made it possible that the world for the first time recognized various complexities,
common and differential experiences of women’s lives. WID approach also has made sex-
disaggregated data on development a common practice and many anti-discriminatory laws have
been enacted throughout the world today. The state governments have women’s ministries and
central agencies for the advancement of women. However, women continue to be the
marginalized and subordinated section of the communities across the globe. While some

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agencies have taken gender issue as central and a serious concern, mostly still, women’s issues
are co-opted an seen and pursued as obligation by local and international development agencies.
Feminization of poverty is real today and women are a more vulnerable group in any crisis. WID
approach has faced challenges and structural transformation and gender equality are goals that
require stronger and more comprehensive approaches. In such situations, the approaches are
evolving and other alternative perspectives are being pushed for. These are discussed in detail in
other modules of the course.

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