The Gender and Development approach has also helped us understand that the gender division of labour gives “triple roles” to women in society. The gender division of labour operates differently from one society and culture to another and it is also dynamic. Comment.

Answer: Basic Understanding:

  • Triple role: Describes three types of work that people do to maintain households and communities. The three categories of work are productive, reproductive and community work.
  • Division of Labour and Development: GAD is not concerned with women exclusively, but with the way in which gender relations allot specific roles, responsibilities and expectations between men and women, often to the detriment of women. Development, therefore, is about deep and important changes to relations dealing with gender inequality within society. This approach also pays particular attention to the oppression of women in the family or the ‘private sphere’ of women’s lives.
  • Operates differently from one society and culture to another: Prioritisation according to societal value and preference. It is dynamic because the preference and priority changes with time.
  • Development beyond Economy: GAD goes further than the other approaches in emphasising both the reproductive and productive role of women and argues that it is the state’s responsibility to support the social reproduction role mostly played by women of caring and nurturing of children.
    As such, it treats development as a complex process that is influenced by political, social and economic factors rather than as a state or stage of development. It therefore goes beyond seeing development as mainly economic well-being but also that the social and
    mental wellbeing of a person is important.
  • Conclusion thought: Women in development and Women and Development: Development theory has also changed from a focus on needs to support for rights. Basic rights are those rights which flow from people’s basic needs such as water, food and housing. This is in recognition of the fact that WID interventions which focused on meeting the practical needs of women have not been successful. This is because they did not challenge fundamentally the structures that come in way of women’s participation in society on an equal basis with men. Representation:
  • How to approach: Introduction: Gender And Development represents a coming together of many feminist ideas. It sought to bring limitations of, the WID approach.
    Body: Write proper structure according to question.
    Conclusion: Write in line with conclusion thought

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