 Gender and developmentZoe Pflaeger Young Chapter 46 in Handbook on Gender in World Politics, 2026, pp 306-311 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: This chapter examines the trajectory of “gender and development”, noting its evolution from a marginal critique to a mainstream policy pillar. A central achievement has been the widespread adoption of gender mainstreaming, intended to systematically integrate a gender perspective into all development activities. However, despite the proliferation of tools and policies, the results have been disappointing. The abstract highlights a core tension: while the language of women's empowerment is ubiquitous in development discourse, its implementation is often instrumentalized, serving economic goals rather than a genuine commitment to gender equality. Concepts like empowerment have been diluted, ignoring the need to challenge structural power relations and support collective action. The chapter critiques the World Bank's approach for its limited engagement with macroeconomic biases and unpaid care work. It concludes by identifying the inclusion of men and the proper valuation of care work as crucial, yet contested, frontiers for achieving a truly transformative gender and development agenda. Keywords: Gender and Development; Gender Mainstreaming; Women's Empowerment; Care Work; World Bank (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21594_46 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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