Policies And Plan Strategies For Womens Development

Planning has a central essential legitimacy in addressing social goals. Despite the ideal position of planning is being able to initiate, encourage & strengthen the links between the theory & practice of feminism in its relationship with gender,planning can act against women's interests & thus reinforce the unequal distribution of powers between the sexes, not only within the planning discipline but also in the assumptions & practice in our use of the built environment. This book provides a feminist interpretation of contemporary urban planning. It outlines the gender inequalities which characterize many areas of mainstream planning as well as the assumptions & practices surrounding our use of the built environment. The book incorporates detailed theoretical discussion on the underlying basis & form of women's subordination & applies this discussion to the development & implementation of planning policies. Attention focuses on both the establishment & operation of formal 'women's initiatives' within local government & on the promotion of specific policies aimed at meeitng women's needs within key areas of planning. - Habitat International, December 1994

Gender planning is not an end in itself but a means by which women, through a process of empowerment, can emancipate themselves. Ultimately, its success depends on the capacity of women's organizations to confront subordination and create successful alliances which will provide constructive support in negotiating women's needs at the level of household, civil society, the state and the global system. Gender Planning and Development provides an introduction to an issue of primary importance and constant debate. It will be essential reading for academics, practitioners, undergraduates and trainees in anthropology, development studies, women's studies and social policy.

Based on focus groups and interviews with nearly 4,000 women, men, girls, and boys from 20 countries, this book explores areas that are less often studied in gender and development: gender norms and agency. It reveals how little gender norms have changed, how similar they are across countries, and how they are being challenged and contested.

Many development programs that aim to alleviate poverty and improve investments in human capital consider women’s empowerment a key pathway by which to achieve impact and often target women as their main beneficiaries. Despite this, women’s empowerment dimensions are often not rigorously measured and are at times merely assumed. This paper starts by reflecting on the concept and measurement of women’s empowerment and then reviews some of the structural interventions that aim to influence underlying gender norms in society and eradicate gender discrimination. It then proceeds to review the evidence of the impact of three types of interventions—cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs—on women’s empowerment, nutrition, or both. Qualitative evidence on conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs generally points to positive impacts on women’s empowerment, although quantitative research findings are more heterogenous. CCT programs produce mixed results on long-term nutritional status, and very limited evidence exists of their impacts on micronutrient status. The little evidence available on unconditional cash transters (UCT) indicates mixed impacts on women’s empowerment and positive impacts on nutrition; however, recent reviews comparing CCT and UCT programs have found little difference in terms of their effects on stunting and they have found that conditionality is less important than other factors, such as access to healthcare and child age and sex. Evidence of cash transfer program impacts depending on the gender of the transfer recipient or on the conditionality is also mixed, although CCTs with non-health conditionalities seem to have negative impacts on nutritional status. The impacts of programs based on the gender of the transfer recipient show mixed results, but almost no experimental evidence exists of testing gender-differentiated impacts of a single program. Agricultural interventions—specifically home gardening and dairy projects—show mixed impacts on women’s empowerment measures such as time, workload, and control over income; but they demonstrate very little impact on nutrition. Implementation modalities are shown to determine differential impacts in terms of empowerment and nutrition outcomes. With regard to the impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment, evidence is also mixed, although more recent reviews do not find any impact on women’s empowerment. The impact of microfinance on nutritional status is mixed, with no evidence of impact on micronutrient status. Across all three types of programs (cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs), very little evidence exists on pathways of impact, and evidence is often biased toward a particular region. The paper ends with a discussion of the findings and remaining evidence gaps and an outline of recommendations for research.

This Guide aims to facilitate the creation of policies and concrete action plans on the issue of women, peace and security through the provision of good practices, specific recommendations and a six-step model process. It is intended as a resource for governments, United Nations and regional organisations as well as non-governmental organisations who are interested in developing plans and policies on women, peace and security issues. The Guide's approach is founded on three core methodologies: strategic planning; participatory planning; and gender/socio-economic analysis. Publishing Agency: International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.