Scribd
Upload
1K views3 pages

Brief History of Gender Studies, Gender in Different Areas of Study & Importance of Gender in Development

Gender studies emerged as a discipline in the late 1970s during the second wave of feminism. The first women's studies programs were established in 1970 at San Diego State College and SUNY-Buffalo. Women's studies in Bangladesh emerged in 1987 when courses were taught in departments of political science, sociology, and public administration. Considering gender is important for development as it allows for a clear gender analysis to identify inequities, more efficient use of resources, and full participation of women in development initiatives and policymaking.

Uploaded by

Koushik Mahmud
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views3 pages

Brief History of Gender Studies, Gender in Different Areas of Study & Importance of Gender in Development

Gender studies emerged as a discipline in the late 1970s during the second wave of feminism. The first women's studies programs were established in 1970 at San Diego State College and SUNY-Buffalo. Women's studies in Bangladesh emerged in 1987 when courses were taught in departments of political science, sociology, and public administration. Considering gender is important for development as it allows for a clear gender analysis to identify inequities, more efficient use of resources, and full participation of women in development initiatives and policymaking.

Uploaded by

Koushik Mahmud
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Brief History of Gender Studies

• Women’s studies as a separate discipline appeared in the late 1970s when second wave of
feminism gained political influence in the academia through student and faculty activism.
The first two Women’s Studies Programs in the United States were established in 1970 at
San Diego State College (now San Diego State University) and SUNY-Buffalo.
Throughout the later 1970s many university and colleges created departments and
programs in Women’s Studies.
• Women’s Studies as a formal area of teaching in Bangladesh emerged around 1987 in the
University of Dhaka. That time the course was taught in the departments of Political
Science, Sociology and Public Administration under the faculty of Social Science.
During 1990s the course has been included in different departments of different
universities.

Gender in Different Areas of Study


Area Studies Human Rights
Community Development Industrial Relations; Industrialization
Demography International Development
Development Communication International Relations
Development Theory Media Studies
Ecology Migration Studies
Economics Peace and Conflict Studies
Urban Development Social Policy
Social Development Social Work
Sustainable Development Cultural Studies
Anthropology Social Welfare
Project Management Finance and Banking
Literature Security Studies
Research Methodology Sexuality and Popular Culture
Law and Social Justice Many More….

1
Importance of Gender in Development
(Please study the provided article titled ‘The Role of Gender in Enhancing the Development Agenda of Any Country’)

• Academic Implication-
• Gender allows for a clear gender analysis which helps to identify, understand, and
redress inequities based on gender development initiatives hence sound inclusive
development.
• Gender enables enhanced social and economic impact of development-
• Gender increases possibilities for successful action in development interventions-
Development planning that takes into account gender-based division of labour and
gender-based access to resources and control of resources will result in development
initiatives based on more complete information. In addition, it is possible to avoid
negative impacts if guarantees exist that the decisions concerning the initiatives shall
involve men and women.
• Gender allows for a more efficient use of resources in development-
• Gender Parity has become central to the development process everywhere-
• Gender enables development practitioners to determine the behavior and actions of
men and women in a development interventions-
• Gender helps to understand the relationship between men and women in
development in terms of power relations, decision making, control of resources and
income in households-
• Gender allows for prioritization of development initiatives- This is based on
considered needs of men and women, persons with disability, children and widows to
have targeted investment opportunities.
• Social and institutional change- Gender affects social and institutional change that leads
to sustainable development with equity and growth.
• Policy linkages- Gender allows priorities of men and women to be properly addressed
and integrated into policy documents of development initiatives. This allows for
systematic and coordinated approach to implementation of development interventions.

Other Roles of Gender in Development


• Mitigates unforeseen challenges and obstacles in development interventions
• Gender reduces dependency ration in a society
• Gender allows for affirmative action for the marginalized in a society
• Gender allows for equality
2
Consideration in gender is based on three strategic principles:
• Universality - promotion and respect for universal freedoms and right, freedom of
expression and freedom from poverty.
• Diversity – ensuring the respect for cultural diversity and pluralism. The cultural sphere
and the media.
• Participation – ensuring the full participation of women in the emerging knowledge
societies and their involvement in policy dialogue and implementation (UNESCO, 2002).

References
• Cornwall, A. (2007). ‘Revisiting the 'Gender Agenda'’, IDS Bulletin, vol. 38, no. 2,
pp.69-78
• OECD. (2013). Gender equality and women’s rights in the post-2015 agenda: A
foundation for sustainable development. OECD and Post-2015 Reflections. Element 3,
Paper 1.
• UN Women. (2013). A Transformative Stand-Alone Goal on Achieving Gender Equality,
omen’s Rights and Women’s Empowerment. In the context of the Post-2015
Development framework and Sustainable Development Goals. UN Women.
• World Bank. (2012). ‘Overview’ in World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality
and Development, World Bank, Washington DC
• www.empowerwomen.org accessed on 5th March, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.
• www.unwomen.org accessed on 5th March, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.

You might also like