MC-VPAA-FN-0008-CM012021

September 17, 2022

Gender and Development

Module No. 2

Bachelor of Physical Education

Francis Thaise A. Cimene, PhD

PARTTIME
Instructional Course Module No. 2
Instructor: Francis Thaise A. Cimene, PhD

Subject Code : GE ELEC 3

Descriptive Title : Gender and Development

I. Greetings/Salutations

Good day everyone! Welcome to this course on Gender and Development.

Here,
we will learn about concepts, principles, and approaches in
understanding gender and development, particularly here in the
Philippines.

II. Course Description

Gender and Development is a three-unit course that ignites awareness of

the
students that gender biases impede development. This is because it
prevents
people from attaining their full potential, which will enable them to become
effective contributors to development.

III. Objectives

This module on the socio-economic perspective

of gender and development examines how gender
affects individuals' opportunities, social roles,
and relationships. Gender has a direct impact on
how successfully international and national
organizations can carry out their policies,
programs, and projects, which in turn has an
impact on how society develops. Every facet of an
individual's and society's economic, social, daily,
and private lives as well as the various roles that
society assigns to men and women are
influenced by gender.

IV. General Instructional Guidelines

Read carefully the objective of this module and ensure that it is achieved
before completing it. Have a look at the references and study them. Do not
limit yourself to these sources since there are many relevant publications
online.
 V. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, students will be able to

explain the socio-economic implications of gender and
development.

VI. Pre-Test Evaluation (Assessment)

Essay: Read the following items carefully and discuss your answer briefly
but comprehensively.

1. Conduct online research on the socio-economic implications of

gender and development.

2. Based on your research, discuss the socio-economic implications of

gender and development in the Philippine context.

3. What can you propose to the Philippine government

so that we can have favorable socio-economic impact
of gender and development policies and programs?

VII. Discussions

The gender perspective looks at the impact of gender on

people's opportunities, social roles and interactions.
Successful implementation of the policy, programme and
project goals of international and national organizations is
directly affected by the impact of gender and, in turn,
influences the process of social development. Gender is an
integral component of every aspect of the economic, social,
daily and private lives of individuals and societies, and of
the different roles ascribed by society to men and women.

For several years now, governments and development

agencies have given top priority to gender issues in
development planning and policies. Gender equity,
concerning resource access and allocation as well as
opportunities for social and economic advancement, has
been a prominent item on the agendas of all recent
international meetings, which have also investigated the
basic link between gender equity and sustainable
development, defining specific mechanisms and objectives
for international cooperation.

The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro (known as the
"Earth Summit") explicitly included gender issues in
Agenda 21, its platform statement. The World Conference
on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, also made
significant progress in recognizing the rights of women and
girl-children as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part
of universal human rights. This principle was taken up
again by the International Conference on Population and
Development, held in Cairo in 1994. Discussions focused on
gender issues, stressing the empowerment of women for
equitable development: "...the objective is to promote
gender equality in all spheres of life, including family and
community life, and to encourage and enable men to take
responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behaviour
and their social and family roles." The World Summit for
Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995, took
gender equity as the core strategy for social and economic
development and environmental protection. The 1995
Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing,
reiterated the importance of these new options, drawing up
an agenda to strengthen the status of women and adopting a
declaration and platform for action aimed at overcoming
the barriers to gender equity and guaranteeing women's
active participation in all spheres of life. Governments, the
international community and civil society, including NGOs
and the private sector, were called upon to take strategic
action in the following critical areas of concern:3

· The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on

women;

· Inequalities and inadequacies in, and unequal access to,

education and training;

· Inequalities and inadequacies in, and unequal access to,

health care and related services;

· Violence against women;

· The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women,

including those living under foreign occupation;
· Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms
of productive activities and in access to resources;

· Inequality between men and women in the sharing of

power and decision-making, at all levels;

· Insufficient mechanisms, at all levels, to promote the

advancement of women;

· Lack of respect for, and inadequate promotion and

protection of, the human rights of women;

· Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access

to, and participation in, all communication systems,
especially the media;

· Gender inequalities in the management of natural

resources and the safeguarding of the environment;

· Persistent discrimination against, and violation of the

rights of, the girl-child.

UN. 1995. Critical areas of concern. In Report of the

3 

Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15

September 1995, Chapter III, Item 44, p. 23, United Nations
A7CONF.177/20.
Governments and international organizations were urged to
promote the search for, and the dissemination of,
information on the main aspects of gender issues, and to
encourage the production and dissemination of gender-
specific statistics for programme planning and evaluation.

Specific recommendations concerning statistics were

formulated. Strategic objective H.34 of the Platform for
Action in Annex 1 states that all statistics concerning
individuals should be gathered, compiled, analysed and
presented as gender-disaggregated data, mirroring the
concerns and issues of women in society. Data should,
therefore:

Ibid, p. 106, Strategic Objective H3: Generate and

4 

disseminate gender-disaggregated data and information for

planning and evaluation.
· Measure the full contributions of women and men to the
economy;

· Measure unpaid work in agriculture, particularly subsistence agriculture, and other

types of non-market production activities included in the UN System of National
Accounts;

· Develop methods for the quantitative measurement of unremunerated work that is

outside the UN System of National Accounts, such as caring for dependents and
preparing food, for possible inclusion in satellite or other official accounts that may be
produced separately from the National Accounts;

· Develop an international classification of unremunerated work activities for

measurement in time-use studies;

· Measure underemployment of men and women;

· Define concepts and methods to measure poverty and access to resources;

· Strengthen systems for gathering essential statistics and incorporate gender analysis;

· Develop data on morbidity and access to health services;

· Develop improved data on all forms of violence against women;

· Develop data collection on women and men with disabilities, including data on their
access to resources.

The Platform also formulated specific recommendations

concerning national statistics. Governments were urged to
review their statistics systems' coverage of gender
considerations, disseminate statistics periodically in
appropriate published forms for a wide range of users and
utilize gender-specific data in the formulation of sustainable
development policies and programmes.

Planners and policy-makers must be mindful of the major

aspects of socially ascribed gender functions and the specific
needs of men and women. If development policies are to be
sustainable, they must consider existing gender disparities in
employment, poverty, family life, health, education, the
environment, public life and decision-making bodies.

2.3.1 Work

Households in all societies differentiate various household

activities and responsibilities by gender. For women,
production and reproduction are two interlinked activities,
and much of the work women do, although productive, is
unpaid. Men have always played a minor role in domestic
work; societies tending to assume that they have paid work
outside the home.

Gender disparities in access to economic resources, including

credit, land and economic power-sharing, directly affect
women's potential for achieving the kind of economic
autonomy they need to provide a better quality of life for
themselves and their dependants. 5 Limited access to
agricultural inputs, especially for food crops, severely curtails
women's potential productivity.

Sections A and B of the Beijing Platform for Action recognize

5 

women's lack of access to productive resources and limited

access to economic power-sharing as being major causes of
poverty. The 1995 FAO Plan of Action for Women in
Development identifies women's lack of access to land and
other agricultural inputs as one of the major obstacles to
productivity.

Discrimination against women in employment is also frequent

outside the agricultural sector, and has an impact on the kinds
of work, careers and career advancement that women can
expect. Over the past 20 years or so, women all over the world
have increased their participation in the labour market, but
they continue to work in less prestigious jobs, are paid less and
have fewer opportunities for advancement.6
6 
UN. 1995. The world's women 1995: trends and
statistics. Sales No. E.95.XVII.2. New York.

Women face a number of disadvantages in the labour market.

As well as coping with sexist prejudices, they must reconcile
the twin roles of homemaker and money-maker. This often
affects their work status, the length and structure of their
workday and their salary level. In addition, the employment
sector offers less scope and potential for women than for men,
as well as lower pay for the same work.

2.3.2 Poverty

Poverty can be defined as the combination of uncertain or

non-existent income and a lack of access to the resources
needed to ensure sustainable living conditions. It often goes
hand-in-hand with hunger, malnourishment, poor health, high
mortality and morbidity rates, insufficient education and
precarious and unhealthy housing.

Studies have revealed an increasing feminization of poverty.

Compared with men, the number of women living below the
poverty line increased between 1970 and 1980. By 1988, an
estimated 60 percent of poor people were women. 7 As well as
sexism in the employment sector, contributing factors
included the economic restructuring imposed on many
countries, government budget cuts and the adoption of neo-
liberal economic models. Women have borne the brunt of
cutbacks in civil service jobs, social services and benefits. Their
workload has increased as welfare structures have broken
down, leaving them in sole charge of children and of elderly, ill
and disabled people who were previously looked after, at least
partially, by the social services sector. While trying to cope
with the impact of the crisis of the welfare state, women are
also desperately trying to juggle their meager resources. The
feminization of poverty is much more visible among female-
headed households. In a male-headed household, both the
man and the woman contribute to the family's welfare; the
man brings in income and the woman, in addition to the goods
and services she provides the family, may also seek paid work
outside the home.8

ILO. 1995. Gender, poverty and employment: turning

7 

capabilities into entitlements. Turin, Italy.

8
 The indices of even limited studies show that the status of
female heads of household with dependent children is
comparable to that of older widows living alone - both tend to
be poorer than men.

In rural areas, where services and job opportunities are even

fewer than in urban areas, poverty is also more acute. The
situation is worse for women, who are less likely to have access
to production factors, services and resources such as credit,
land, inheritance, education, information, extension services,
technology and farm inputs, as well as a say in decision-
making.

Another reason for the persistence of female poverty is gender

vulnerability within the home. When poor families cannot
afford to send all of their children to school, parents favour
investing in the boy-children, keeping the girls at home to help
with domestic work or some income-generating activity.
2.3.3 Family life

In all societies women are the prime carers of children, the

elderly and the ill, and do most of the domestic
tasks.9 Women's lives are greatly affected by reproduction,
which has an incisive and direct impact on their health and on
their educational, employment and earning opportunities. In
societies where women marry very young and much earlier
than men, wives defer more to husbands, and this has a
substantial bearing on women's chances of finding paid work
and receiving an education.
9 
Op. cit., footnote 6, p. 6.
Growing male migration in search of work has combined with
unstable conjugal arrangements to increase the number of
female-headed households. There are also more widows then
widowers because women tend to live longer and men are
more likely to remarry or seek alternative living arrangements.
The 1990 censuses showed that 21 percent of Latin American
households were headed by women while, in the Caribbean,
the figure was 35 percent - the highest of any region
worldwide.10
10 
Women in developing countries are estimated to do between
two-thirds and three-quarters of the domestic work (op. cit.,
footnote 6, p. 106). A study of three cities in Mexico showed
that women spent an average of 56 hours per week on
household tasks, while men spent seven hours. The sexes also
did different tasks; men mostly shopped and took the children
to school and women did the remainder of the work in the
home (Pedrero, M. 1996. "Organización familiar"; familias
con futuro. Mexico, GEM.

The differences between female- and male-headed households

usually have a bearing on all aspects of family life: the size and
composition of the family and how it is run; nutrition; raising
children; and available income.11 A single female head of
household has a double responsibility - she must earn a living
and, at the same time, run a home.

Whoever bears the family name is usually listed as the head

11 

of household. Stereotypically, an adult male is often

automatically considered to be the head of the family even
when a woman is economically and otherwise responsible for
that family. Most female-headed households are, therefore,
also one-parent households. M. Pedrero's study (op. cit.,
footnote 10) showed that only 1.4 percent of female heads of
household lived with a partner.
2.3.4 Health and nutrition

Biologically, men and women have different health needs, but

lifestyles and socially ascribed roles arising from prevailing
social and cultural patterns also play a part in the health
picture. Men are more likely to be the victims of occupational
diseases, accidents at work, smoking, alcohol and other forms
of substance abuse. Men12 have a higher incidence of cancer
and of cardiovascular lesions and diseases (the principal cause
of male mortality). Women's health risks, which are mainly
linked to reproduction, make them more vulnerable during
pregnancy to anemia, malnutrition, hepatitis, malaria,
diabetes and other illnesses.

For a more detailed analysis of causes of mortality and

12 

morbidity, see: Murray, C.J.L. & López, A.D. 1994. Global and
regional cause-of-death patterns in 1990. WHO Bulletin, 72
(3): 447-480.

Women's life expectancy is greater than men's - women live for

five to 12 years longer than men in Europe, North America and
some countries of Latin America. There are a number of
hypothetical explanations for this phenomenon, ranging from
genetics and biology to environmental and social causes, but
no definitive consensus has yet emerged. 13 Female life
expectancy does not conform to this pattern in some Asian
countries, where cultural norms and religious precepts restrict
women's access to medical care and health services.
13 
Ibid, p. 65-66.

Despite the generally poor provision of health services,

particularly in rural areas, there has been a surge of interest in
the family planning, maternal and child health care services
offered by NGOs, which have benefited mothers, children of
both sexes and adult women in general.

Custom, social constraints and lack of resources also give rise

to gender disparities among children in terms of nutrition,
morbidity and mortality. The two sexes do not receive equal
attention and care; the tendency being to favour boy-children.
Males are also fed more and better.

The sharing of food among adult members of the family may also be unequal in some
societies. Women often serve the family first and eat whatever is left. They often do not get
enough to eat, with grave consequences for their health, especially when they are pregnant
or breastfeeding. Women are the poorest of the poor, and even women heads of household
are often undernourished, denying themselves in order to feed their children.

Because food production in the rural zones of many countries

is largely carried out at home by women, their own and their
families' nutritional status would benefit from women having
greater access to the agricultural credit, technology and
services necessary for increased productivity.

2.3.5 Education14

 "Education" here is taken to mean "schooling", as the word

14

has connotations far beyond mere formal instruction.

The increasingly competitive labour market demands ever-
higher levels of education. People without it are at a growing
disadvantage.

At the same time, there is broad consensus that education can,

in times of change, move marginalized, excluded people into
the mainstream. Despite this, socio-cultural barriers and
prejudices that restrict women's access to education persist in
a number of societies.

More women than men are illiterate; and the lower a country's
literacy rate, the wider the gap between the two sexes. The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) estimates that 41 percent of women
in developing countries are illiterate, compared with 20
percent of men. In some countries, the illiteracy rate of rural
women between the ages of 15 and 24 years is twice to three
times that of women in urban areas. 15 Girls leave school earlier,
especially in rural areas where they are needed to help with
domestic and productive work. The lack of transport or of
schools located near the home widens the literacy gap by
directly affecting girls' school attendance, as parents tend to
worry about the personal safety of their daughters. In some
societies, rigid cultural patterns and social rules restrict
women's movements outside the home.

UNDP. 1995. Human Development Report. New York and

15 

London, Oxford University Press. See also op. cit., footnote 6.

In some parts of the world, such as the Caribbean and western
Asia, the number of women enrolling in institutes of higher
learning is increasing, sometimes even exceeding male
enrolments. However, the chosen fields of study differ greatly.
Cultural traditions, prejudices, stereotypes and family
reluctance frequently result in the exclusion of women from
the scientific and technical fields, inducing many to opt for the
more "feminine", but less remunerative and less promising
careers - a choice that aggravates segregation in the job
market.

2.3.6 The environment

The impact of environmental degradation is gender-

differentiated in terms of workloads and the quality of life;
women are the first to be affected by the depletion of natural
resources. In rural areas in most developing countries, women
are responsible for the daily management and use of natural
resources, as well as providing for the family by raising food
crops, gathering forest products and fetching wood and water.
Widespread and growing deforestation and the drying-up of
water sources force women to range ever further afield,
spending more time and energy in producing and finding
essential commodities and making it even harder for them to
engage in more productive, more lucrative activities.16

A series of case studies by the United Nations Population

16 

Fund (UNFPA) to evaluate the impact on women of

environmental degradation revealed the increasing difficulty
of finding fuel and water. See UNFPA. 1995. State of World
Population 1995. New York. For data on women with respect
to water and fuel scarcity, see also op. cit., footnote 6.
Environmental degradation caused by poorly managed and
utilized waste products and pollutants can have a
disproportionate impact on women, who seem to be more
susceptible to the toxic effects of certain chemicals. The health
risk is even higher among the lower-income strata of the
population, who tend to live near industrial urban areas, or
among rural people living near fields that are sprayed from the
air.

Consumption patterns and industrial production in developed

countries are very detrimental to sustainable development,
natural resources and people everywhere. Global warming, the
shrinking ozone layer and reduced biodiversity are some of the
better-known effects of environmental degradation.

In many countries the lives of rural people are wholly

dependent on the availability of natural resources. Both men
and women overexploit natural resources in a struggle for
survival in which soils are depleted, wildlife, plant and marine
resources destroyed, and the quality of water downgraded.
 Environmental degradation is most keenly felt by the most
vulnerable members of the community and those who rely
heavily on nature's bounty. For this reason, gender disparities
in natural resource management and participation in policy-
making must be clearly understood.

2.3.7 The public and policy-making spheres

Gender inequality is a persistent feature of the public and

policy-making spheres. Women continue to be under-
represented in governments, legislative bodies and many other
crucial sectors affecting public opinion, such as the mass
media, the arts, religion and culture. Worldwide, there are
only 16 countries in which more than 15 percent of ministerial
posts are held by women, and in 59 countries there are no
women ministers at all.17 Although women have the right to
vote in nearly every country in the world, there are very few
women in government; in 1994, only 10 percent of the world's
parliamentary deputies were women.18

These inequalities have their roots in everyday family life; gender disparities in the division
of household tasks and responsibilities cramp women's horizons and hamper their full
participation in other activities. Socio-cultural prejudices and stereotyping are still the
main constraints to women's participation in the spheres of political and economic power.

Few women occupy key positions in large companies, and it is

still rare to find a woman heading one. Ministries of finance
and budget and the central banks are mostly headed by men,
with very few administrative or management positions filled
by women.19

VIII. Post-Test Evaluation Activity (Assessment)

TRUE OR FALSE. Write True if the statement is true

and False if the statement is false.

______1. Inequality between men and women persists in

both the public and policy-making sectors.

______2. The gap between the sexes in terms of literacy

is greater for women than for males, and it widens the
lower the country's literacy rate.
 ______3. Women are still underrepresented in politics,
legislatures, and many other influential fields that shape
public opinion, including the media, the arts, religion, and
culture.

4. The decreasing difficulty of accessing fuel and

__________

water was shown by a series of case studies conducted by

the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to assess
the effects of environmental degradation on women.

______5. Only 16 nations on the entire planet have

more than 15% of their cabinet positions filled by
women, and 59 nations have no female ministers at
all.

IX. Terminology/Definition of Terms

Gender—refers to socially learned behavior and expectations that

Distinguish between masculinity and femininity.

Sex--- refers to either of the two main categories (male and female) into
which humans and most other living things are divided and their
reproductive functions.

Social Justice - Fairness and equity as a right for all in

the outcomes of development, through processes of
social transformation WID/GAD

Women’s Empowerment - A ‘bottom-up’ process

of transforming gender power relations, through
individuals or groups developing awareness of
women’s subordination and building their capacity to
challenge it.

X. Summary

Gender is the socially constructed roles ascribed to

males and females. These roles, which are learned,
change over time and vary widely within and
between cultures. It is socially learned behavior and
expectations that distinguish between masculinity
and femininity. Unlike sex, which is the biological
distinction between males and females.
 Gender and Development refers to the development
perspective and process that is participatory and
empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from
violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of
self-determination and actualization of human
potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality as a
fundamental value that should be reflected in
development choices and contends that women are
active agents of development, not just passive
recipients of development.

XI. Rubrics/Criteria for the Assessments Conducted

CRITERIA / SCALE EXCEEDS MEETS NEEDS IMPROVEMENT INADEQUATE

EXPECTATIONS EXPECTATIONS 3 points 2 points
5 points 4 points
Focus  Purpose is clear  Shows awareness of  Shows limited awareness  No awareness
 Purpose purpose of purpose
Main Idea  Clearly presents a  There is a main idea  Vague sense of a main  No main idea
main idea and supported idea, weakly supported
supports it throughout most of throughout the paper
throughout the paper the paper
Structure  Paper is logically  Paper has a clear  There is some level of  There is no
 Organization organized organizational organization though apparent
 Flow of Thought  Easily followed structure with some digressions, ambiguities, organization to the
 Transitions  Effective, smooth, digressions, irrelevances are too many paper.
 Format and logical ambiguities or  Difficult to follow  Difficult to follow
transitions irrelevances  Ineffective transitions  No or poor
 Professional format  Easily followed  Rambling format transitions
 Basic transitions  No forma
 Structured format
Grammar/mechanics  Manipulates complex  Uses complex  Uses compound sentences  Uses simple
 Sentence Structure sentences for sentences  Too many punctuation sentences
 Punctuation/ effect/impact  Few punctuation or and/or mechanical errors
Mechanics  No punctuation or mechanical errors
mechanical errors
Language  Vocabulary is  Vocabulary is varied,  Vocabulary is used  Vocabulary is
 Vocabulary; use of sophisticated and specific and properly though sentences unsophisticated,
vocabulary correct as are appropriate may be simple not used properly
 Tone sentences which vary  Frequently uses subj  Infrequently uses subject in very simple
in structure and specific vocabulary specific vocabulary sentences.
length correctly correctly  Uses subject
 Uses and  Writer’s tone  Writer’s tone exhibits specific vocabulary
manipulates subject emerges and is some level of audience too sparingly
specific vocabulary generally appropriate sensitivity
for effect to audience
 Writer’s tone is clear,
consistent and
appropriate for
intended audience
Content/Information  Central idea is well  Central idea and  The central idea is  Central idea and
 Clarity of Purpose developed and clarity clarity purpose are expressed though it may clarity purpose are
 Critical and Origin of purpose is generally evident be vague or too broad; absent or
Thought exhibited throughout throughout the essay Some sense of purpose is incompletely
 Use of Examples the paper  Evidence of critical, maintained throughout the expressed and
 Abundance of careful thought and essay maintained
evidence of critical, analysis and/or  Some evidence of critical,  Little or no
careful thought and insight careful thought and evidence of critical,
analysis and/or  There are good, analysis and/or insight careful thought
insight relevant supporting  There are some examples analysis and/or
 Evidence and examples and and evidence, though insight
examples are vivid evidence general  There are too few,
and specific, while no example and
focus remains tight evidence or they
are mostly
irrelevant

XII. References (Resources and Media)

Cimene, F.T., Salado, FB., Siwagan, MCF, Patrimonio, JE, Santander, ME,
Tanog, M., Cabrillos, FM. (2021). Gender and Society: A Modular Approach.
Bulacan, Philippines: St. Andrew Publishing House.

https://www.fao.org/3/x2919e/x2919e04.htm

XIII. Attachments (optional)