06 - Theoretical Perspectives on Gender

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER INEQUALITY

Functionalist:

Early functionalists (Talcott Parsons (1955) argue that:

  • Gender inequality is inevitable because men physically stronger than women, and have certain abilities and interests, whereas women are the only sex able to bear and nurturing children and have their own abilities and interests.

  • Men are more suited to instrumental (goal-oriented) tasks and women perform expressive (emotionally oriented) tasks

More recently:

  • Inequality due to differences in human capital of men and women (capital diminishes with time off for child-bearing and childcare).

  • Critics wonder: are people evaluated fairly otherwise?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER INEQUALITY

Conflict argues that social life is a continuous struggle in which the powerful seek to control resources:

  • Gender inequality results from capitalism and private ownership of the means of production (by men)

  • A result of structural and historical relations

  • Different from hunter-gatherer and feudal societies

  • Critics wonder: would inequality end with the liberation of the working class?

Interactionist argues that gender is created and sustained through social processes:

  • Differential socialization creates gender categories (usually two-sex model): Masculinity and Femininity.

  • Children are socialized into appropriate gender roles

  • Language is extremely important in defining social realities:

  • Gender roles are expressed in language.

  • Linguistic sexism refers to words and pattern of communication within the English Language and other Language that ignores, devalues, or makes, sex objects of women.

  • Genderlects refers to differences in men’s and women’s styles and contents of language.

  • Non-verbal communication men control more space, than women, including sexual harassment.

Feminist: Various forms of feminism

  • All challenges the status quo about the unequal position  of females and other subordinate groups in society

  • Socialist focuses on the effects of capitalism on women: Under capitalism men gain control over property and women. Capitalism exploits women in the workplace

  • Radical focuses exclusively on patriarchy as the primary source of inequality: Men’s oppression of women is deliberately supported by media and religion

  • Liberal examines gender role socialization: Inequality is rooted in gender-role socialization.

  • Intersectionality approach: Black, Indigenous, and other women of color face inequalities compounded by racialization, class,  gender, and sexual orientation

HOW THE CLASSICAL DEVELOPMENT MODELS FAILED WOMEN

  • Development did not address the needs of women and the challenges of gender.

  • Women did not feature in classical development theory/models

  • The trickle-down approach failed and did benefit the groups intended.

  • This paved the way for the adoption of the basic-needs strategy, which focused on increasing the participation in and benefits of the development process for the poor, as well as recognizing women's needs and contributions to society.

  • Dependency theory has also been criticized for conceptualizing development through a Western lens and for failing to make any provision for the needs of specific groups such as women.

  • Both Modernisation and Dependency theories have failed to include women in the conceptualization of development from inception (Reddock 2000). 

  • Classical development models such as modernisation and dependency did not address the challenges of gender, and women were excluded from the discourse.

  • For example, modernisation theory has been criticised for failing to consider the poor as the centrepiece in poverty reduction initiatives and for ignoring the involvement and participation of the target community (Guoyuan, 2018).

CRITIQUES OF DEVELOPMENT

  • The post-modernist perspective highlights one of the main criticisms of development, which is that it is seen as flawed and ideologically misguided.

  • Development failed to deliver on its promises and did not serve the needs of the intended groups such as the global south, women, children, and the poor who are vulnerable to economic shocks.

  • Post-modernist writers like Alvares (1992) rejected development as a Western value-laden concept that perpetuates global inequality and violence. Development is seen as a label for plunder and a means of dividing the global population into those who benefit and those who are left behind.

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

  • In 1972 the United Nations designated 1975 as International Women's Year, highlighting the need to involve women in issues of economic development.

DEVELOPMENT THEORIES AND APPROACHES RELATED TO GENDER

  • Women in Development (WID)approach is based on the concept that women are marginalized in development-oriented interventions, with the result that women are often excluded from the benefits of development. Hence, the overall objective is to ensure that resources and interventions for development are used to improve the condition and position of women.

  • Criticism:

    • Women were just inserted into development there was no in-depth consultation with women. Just addressing some practical needs but did not fundamentally change the hierarchical relations.

  • The WAD framework acknowledges women as economic agents, recognizing their knowledge and contributions in both public and private spheres, as well as the economic value of their work (Connelly et al., 2000).

  • While women have historically participated in both formal and informal workspaces, their labor—particularly in informal and domestic settings—has often been undervalued.

  • Gender and Development (GAD) came into being as a response to the perceived shortcomings of women in development (WID) programmes.

  • GAD centred approaches are essentially based on three premises:

    • 1) Gender relations are fundamentally power relations;

    • 2) Gender is a socio-cultural construction rather than a biological given;

    • 3) Structural changes in gender roles and relations are possible.

    • Central to GAD is the belief that transforming unequal power relations between men and women is a prerequisite for achieving sustainable improvements in women’s lives.

MOSER GENDER ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK - WOMEN’S TRIPLE ROLES

  • Moser (1993) denotes women’s triple roles in society and an analytical framework for projects, programmes, and policy.

  • Her analytical framework is underpinned by the Gender and Development (GAD) approach in development. These gender roles are productive (paid work), reproductive (family caregiving work), and community work which obtains particularly for low-income women in many societies (March et al., 1999).

  • This contrasts with the roles of men who are normally involved in chiefly productive and community political activities (March et al., 1999).

CAROLINE MOSER — WOMEN’S TRIPLE ROLES

  1. Productive Role – This refers to women’s engagement in income-generating work, including both formal and informal employment, agricultural labor, and self-employment.

Despite their contributions, women's work is often undervalued or unpaid.

  1. Reproductive Role – This involves childbearing, childcare, household maintenance, and other domestic responsibilities.

tasks are essential for sustaining the workforce but are typically unpaid and considered part of women’s natural duties.

  1. Community Role (also called Community Managing Role) – Women often take on responsibilities within their communities, such as organizing social services, volunteering, and participating in collective action.

These activities, though crucial for social cohesion, are usually unpaid and overlooked.

  • Regarding the third aspect of the triple roles—community work—Moser highlights that while both men and women participate, it remains shaped by the gendered division of labor.

  • Women are primarily assigned community management tasks, which are viewed as an extension of their productive role.

  • Although these responsibilities are essential to the functioning of the family unit, the patriarchal system has historically deemed them menial.

  • In contrast, men’s contributions to community work typically involve structured, paid political activities that are acknowledged by the national political framework and grant them greater power and prestige (March et al., 1999).

SIGNIFICANCE OF MOSER’S TRIPLE ROLES FRAMEWORK

  • Highlights the multiple burdens women face, as they often juggle all three roles simultaneously.

  • Shows how gender roles influence economic and social development.

  • Advocates for gender-aware policies that recognize and address these inequalities.

LAWS, CONVENTIONS related to GENDER EQUALITY

  • Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) Adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995, comprehensive commitments to women are called for under 12 critical areas of concern:

  • Poverty, education and training, health, violence against women, armed conflict, the economy, power and decision making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment and the girl child.

  • Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) (1946)-- The main global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

  • At its sixtieth session, in 2016, the Commission passed resolution 60/2, on women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS.

  • At its sixty-first session, in 2017, the Commission urged governments to mainstream gender perspectives in education and training, including:

  • Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), develop gender-sensitive curricula, eradicate female illiteracy and facilitate girls’ and women’s effective transition to work. Girls with disabilities and their right to education were highlighted in conclusions adopted at both sessions.

  • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC/UNCRC) (1989) This United Nations convention and its optional protocols outline rights to be enjoyed without discrimination, including on the grounds of gender.

  • The legal framework includes all fundamental human rights treaties with provisions confirming the principle of non-discrimination and equality between men and women, and boys and girls.

  • Among those treaties, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) relates directly to the situation and well-being of girls.

  • Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (1979) Adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly, “CEDAW” is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

  • The Convention defines discrimination against women as

  • "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."