Bahir Dar University

College of social Science & Humanities

Introduction to Gender Studies

2015 E.C.
 Introductory Courses for Gender and Development
Studies
Course Description
• The course highlights basic concepts and definitions of terms in
gender studies.
• It examines the cultural construction of gender and justifies the
rationale for considering the differences between men and women in
development.
• It provides a general introduction to women movements, and
approaches in gender and development.
• Finally, it examines gender issues in Ethiopian context, women
empowerment needs in Ethiopia. Basic concepts & definitions of
terms in gender, rationale for considering gender in development,
gender issues in Ethiopia women movements, and women
empowerment.
 Learning Outcomes.
• At the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Describe the basic concepts and definitions of terms in gender studies
• Justify the reason for considering gender in development
• Examine women movements, and approaches to women in development
• Analyse gender issues in Ethiopian context
• Examine women empowerment approach
• Explore factors that affect women’s empowerment
• Provide analysis of empirically grounded indicators, which help to measure
women’s empowerment
• Identify policy frameworks or strategies for women’s empowerment in Ethiopia
 Course Content: Chapters and Sections.
• Chapter One:
• Introduction to Basic Concepts & definition of Terms in
Gender studies (Week-1).
1.1. Concepts & definition of terms in gender studies
1.2. Justification for considering gender in development
1.3. Construction of gender in a society
References
Melissa M. Wilcox 2011. Lecture Note on Gender Studies 100: Introduction to Gender
Studies; Whitman Collage
https://www.whitman.edu/Documents/Academics/GndS100F111.pdf
 Chapter Two:
Introduction to policy approaches to women, gender &
development
2.1. History of women’s movement,
2.2. Policy approaches to women, gender and development .
Reference
• Lucy Muyoyeta (Undated), Women, Gender and Development. Women for
Change, Zambia and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World, Ireland
 Chapter Three:
Gender issues in the context of Ethiopian (Week 2)
3.1. Gender related problems in Ethiopia,
3.2. Approaches to gender issues during different Ethiopian regimes

References
• “World Bank (1998). Gender Issues in Ethiopia: Implementing the National
Policy on Women.
• Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Info-briefs; No. 119. Washington, DC.
World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9885
License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
 Chapter Four:
Women Empowerment(Weeks 3 & 4).
4.1. Women’s Political, Social & Economic empowerment and their main roles in
these aspects
4.2. The Status of Women in Ethiopia (social, economic, cultural, political & legal
status)
4.3. Factors Affecting women’s Empowerment
4.4. Some Women Empowering policy frame works in Ethiopia
4.4.1 Health policy
4.4.2. Reproductive health Strategy
4.4.3. Education policy
 Cont.
4.4.4. The National Policy on Ethiopian Women
4.4.5. Population policy
4.4.6. Economic policy
4.5. Measurement and Indicators of Empowerment
References
• Women’s Empowerment Principles Equality Means Business at
http://www.unifem.org/partnerships/womens_empowerment_princi
ples/
• UN (2010). Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment and
Strengthening Development Cooperation.’ Department of Economic
and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/pdfs/10-
50143_(e)_(desa)dialogues_ecosoc_achieving_gender_equality_wom
 CHAPTER ONE
1.1. Concepts & definition of terms in gender studies
SEX

 Sex refers to the biological characteristics that

categorize someone as either female or male.
Sex is determined at conception.
 Sex’ denotes human females and males depending
on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other
physical features
 Characteristics of Sex
i. Universal – same everywhere – does not

change/static/uniform( can not be changed)

ii. . Biological – determined at conception/by creator/

chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external
sex organs(biologically determined)

Born with

 Sex is what you are biologically;

 Biological and physiological difference between males and females(sex).

iii. Physical – physical differences between males and

female because they have different bodies

Generally, Sex biologically-determined differences between men and women. These differences are generally
unchangeable and universal.
 Gender
Gender is not something we are born with, and not something we
have, but something we do
Gender is defined as socially constructed norms and ideologies which
determine the behavior and actions of men and women.

Understanding these gender relations and the power dynamics behind

them is a prerequisite for understanding individual’s access to and
distribution of resources

 the ability to make decisions and the way women and men, boys and
girls are affected by political processes and social development.
 Cont.
These roles and expectations are learned.

They can change over time and vary within and between cultures.

gender refers to the roles, behavior, attitudes and activities that society
assigns to men and women. It can also be the power relations between men
and women in a given society.

Influenced by perceptions & expectations arising from cultural, political,

environmental, economic, social and religious factors
 Cont.
• gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role,
position, behaviour or identity)
Gender is what you become socially;
• Gender refers to the social differences between females and males
throughout the life cycle that are learned, and though deeply rooted in every
culture
• are changeable over time, and have wide variations both within and between
cultures. culture is not static but evolves.
• As societies become more complex, the roles played by men and women are
not only determined by culture but by socio political and economic factors.
 Cont.
• Generally Gender is Socially-constructed roles and responsibilities of
women and men in a given place or culture.
• These roles are influenced by perceptions and expectations arising
from cultural, political, environmental, economic, social, and religious
factors, as well as custom, law, class, ethnicity, and individual or
institutional bias.
• Gender attitudes and behaviors are learned through socialization and
are changeable.
What comes to mind?
Female/feminine
Male/masculine
 1.Feminine Traits
• Empathetic
• Sensitive .
• Passive
• Dependent
• Submissive
• Emotional
• Passive
 2.Masculine Traits
• Competent
• Rational
• Assertive
• Independent
• Aggressive
• Strong-headed
• Dominant
• Kind
• Verbal
 GENDER ROLES
• A set of social, behavioral norms, attitudes and tasks that are
considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in
the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures
and over time.

• Affected by age, class, race, ethnicity and religion, and by the geographical,
economic and political environment.

• They especially influence relationships between men and women

1.2. Justification for considering gender in development

Why gender is a development issue ?

• A set of social, behavioral norms, attitudes and tasks that are considered
to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a
specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time.
• Affected by age, class, race, ethnicity and religion, and by the geographical,
economic and political environment.
• They especially influence relationships between women and men
 Cont.
There are a number of reasons for gender to be a development issue. Some of
the reasons are:
Each sex constitutes half of the population, ignoring half of the population in
development does not bring full, effective and efficient development at all.
Men and women are prime agents of development, each need to be
recognized, addressed and mobilized.
Both men and women must share the fruits of development equitably.
Sustainability of development efforts can be achieved if both women's and
men's participation should be ensured.
 1.3. Construction of gender in a society
• Gender is learnt through a process of socialization beginning from childhood.and
through the culture of the particular society concerned. Women and men learn
their gender appropriate behaviors through a process of socialization.
• In many cultures boys are encouraged in the acts considered to display male
traits (and girls vice versa)
• through the toys given to children (guns for boys, dolls for girls),
• the kind of discipline meted out,
• the jobs or careers to which they might aspire, and the portrayal of men and
women in the media. Children learn their gender from birth. They learn how they
should behave in order to be perceived by others, and themselves, as either
masculine or feminine. Throughout their life this is reinforced by parents,
teachers, peers, their culture and society.
 Gender socialization agents
• Parents , teachers, sports activities, the mass media, and peer groups
serve as gendered institutions serve as agents of socialization for gender
appropriate behavior.
• Gender socialization does not stop at childhood or at teenage. It also
takes place at adulthood (Risman, 1998).
• Many parents prefer boys to girls because of stereotypical ideas about
the relative importance of males and females to the future of the family
and society.
• Across cultures, boys are preferred to girls, especially when the number
of children that parents can have is limited by law or economic
conditions.
 Basic Gender Needs
In assessing development results and planning development
projects, it is sometimes useful to distinguish between two types of
needs:
Practical needs; and
Strategic needs.
1. Practical needs of women are similar to those of men, and
include the need for food, shelter and clothing, basic education,
health care, a minimum level of income, etc. Generally basic needs
must be met before strategic developmental needs can be fulfilled.
 The needs women identify in their socially accepted roles in
society
Practical gender needs do not challenge the gender divisions of
labor or women’s subordinate position in society
 Cont.

the immediate needs identified by women to assist their survival in their

socially accepted roles, within existing power structures.

Practical Gender Needs are the concrete and practical needs women and
men have for survival and economic advancement,

which do not challenge the existing sexual division of labor, legal

inequalities, or other aspects of discrimination due to cultural and social
practices
 2.Strategic Gender Needs
are those needs identified by women that require strategies for
challenging male dominance and privilege
 These needs may relate to inequalities in the gender division of labour,
in ownership and control of resources, in participation in decision-
making.
Strategic needs are connected to developmental goals.
If the goal is “equality”, strategic needs are those that must be met in order for
the unequal group to change its current situation and achieve equality.
For example, if the goal is for women to achieve equality with men, strategic
needs would include the skill sets that women must gain to achieve equality,
 the legal conditions that must be achieved to support equality, and the societal
values that must be altered to provide a basis for ongoing equality.
 Practical needs vs strategic needs
Practical needs
Tend to be immediate, short term
Specific to certain women
Related to daily needs, food, housing, income, health, etc
Easily identifiable by women
Can be satisfied by accurate/precise elements, food, handpumps, clinics
The satisfaction of practical needs
Tend to make the women beneficiary and sometimes participant
Can improve women's living conditions
Generally does not change the traditional roles and social relatons
 Strategic needs
Tend to be long term
Common for all women
Are related to subordinate position; lack of resource, education and
training vulnerability to poverty and violence, etc.
Can be satisfied by confidence building ,political mobilization,
strengthening of women's organization, etc
The satisfaction of strategic interest
Tend to make the women agent of change or empower to them to
become agent of change
Can improve the situation the women has in the society
Can give more power to women and transform the social relations.
 Cont.
 Practical needs and strategic needs are complementary.
Example, programs that only target practical needs may not be
sustainable unless strategic interest are also taken in to account
 What is Gender Studies?
• Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender
identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field
of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics.[1][2] The
field now overlaps with queer studies and men's studies. Its rise to prominence,
especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise
of deconstruction.[3]
• Disciplines that frequently contribute to gender studies include the fields
of literature, linguistics, human geography, history, political
science, archaeology, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cinema, mu
sicology, media studies,[4] human development, law, public health, and
medicine.[5] Gender studies also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social
class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and
sexuality.[6][7]
• In gender studies, the term 'gender' is often used to refer to the social and
cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity, rather than biological aspects
of the male or female sex.[8] However, this view is not held by all gender theorists.
 The main purpose of studying gender and society
• This established gender research and analysis enables us to examine and
challenge social norms around what it means to be a woman or man in
society, and to pursue justice and equality for all, which should be
fundamental facets of development.
Elements of gender
• The concept of gender includes five important elements: relational,
hierarchical, historical, contextual and institutional.
 History of gender studies
• The history of gender studies looks at the different perspectives of
gender. This discipline examines the ways in which historical, cultural, and
social events shape the role of gender in different societies. The field of
gender studies, while focusing on the differences between men and
women, also looks at sexual differences and less binary definitions of
gender categorization.[55]
 Cont.
• After the universal suffrage revolution of the twentieth century,
the women's liberation movement of the 1960 and 1970s promoted a
revision from the feminists to "actively interrogate" the usual and accepted
versions of history as it was known at the time. It was the goal of many
feminist scholars to question original assumptions regarding women's and
men's attributes, to actually measure them, and to report observed
differences between women and men.[56] Initially, these programs were
essentially feminist, designed to recognize contributions made by women as
well as by men. Soon,
 Cont.
• men began to look at masculinity the same way that women were looking at
femininity, and developed an area of study called "men's studies".[57] It was
not until the late 1980s and 1990s that scholars recognized a need for study
in the field of sexuality. This was due to the increasing interest in lesbian and
gay rights, and scholars found that most individuals will associate sexuality
and gender together, rather than as separate entities.[57][58]
• Although doctoral programs for women's studies have existed since 1990,
the first doctoral program for a potential PhD in gender studies in the United
States was approved in November 2005.[59]
• In 2015, Kabul University became the first university in Afghanistan to offer a
master's degree course in gender and women's studies.[60] After the Taliban
took over the Afghan capital, the university fell under their control and
banned women from attending.[61]
 Chapter Two:
Introduction to policy approaches to women, gender &
development
2.1. History of women’s movement,
2.2. Policy approaches to women, gender and development .
Reference
• Lucy Muyoyeta (Undated), Women, Gender and Development. Women for
Change, Zambia and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World, Ireland
2.1. History of women’s movement
 The United Nations Charter of 1945 CEDAW and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights/UDHR in 1948 established the first official worldwide
recognition of women‘s equality and non-discrimination on the basis on sex.

 However until the late 1960‘s the focus was on women‘s reproductive roles,
as women were seen as wives and mothers
 , Cont.

• Their main issues were supposed to be obtaining access to food,

contraceptives, nutrition, and health care.

• The 1970‘s and 1980‘s marked a new phase in which the debate
moved onto the global stage where the role of women was
promoted as an aid for economic development.
Cont.
women's rights movement,
also called women's
liberation movement, diverse
social movement, largely
based in the United States,
that in the 1960s and '70s
sought equal rights and
opportunities and greater
personal freedom for
women. It coincided with
and is recognized as part of
the “second wave” of
feminism.
 Cont.
• While the first-wave feminism of the 19th and early 20th
centuries focused on women’s legal rights, especially the
right to vote (see women’s suffrage), the second-
wave feminism of the women’s rights movement touched on
every area of women’s experience—including politics, work,
the family, and sexuality.
• Organized activism by and on behalf of women continued
through the third and fourth waves of feminism from the
mid-1990s and the early 2010s, respectively. For more
discussion of historical and contemporary feminists and the
women’s movements they inspired, see feminism.
2.2. Policy approaches to women, gender and development .

• The question has been asked whether the issue of women’s development
is an issue separate from that of broader development.

• Research and practical experience has, in general, taught us the following:

Women have not benefited from development processes, programmes
and projects to the same extent as men Women are very often not
included in the planning or implementation of development
Development can undermine the role, status and position of women in
society
Policy approaches to women, gender and development
• Development affects women and men differently, often with a negative
impact on women
• The debates about women and to what extent they benefit or do not
benefit from development have led to the emergence of three distinctive
models.
• These models seek to explain how development affects women and
• why women and men are affected by development differently. These
models are discussed in some detail below.
Policy approaches to women, gender and development
2.2.1. Women in Development (WID)
2.2.2. Women and Development (WAD)
2.2.3. Gender and Development (GAD)

PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN

1.The Welfare Approach

2.The Equity Approach
3.The Anti-Poverty Approach
4.The Efficiency Approach
5.The Empowerment Approach
 2.2.1. Women in Development (WID)
• By the 1970s women were being left out of development and were not
benefiting significantly from it and in some instances their existing status
and position in society was actually being made worse by development.

• The WID approach saw the problem as the exclusion of women from
development programmes and approaches. As a result, the solution was
seen as integrating women into such programmes.

• WID saw women as a group being treated as lacking opportunity to

participate in development. The main task, therefore, was to improve
women’s access to resources and their participation in development
 WID
• The WID approach argued for the integration of women into development
programmes and planning assumed as the best way to improve women’s
position in society. Major emphasis was on income-generating projects for
women as a means of integration.

• Welfare oriented projects dealing with small income-generating projects

and activities mostly aimed at women’s reproductive role, where nutrition
education and family planning were a main feature.
 Cont.
• Although it had limitations, increased the visibility of women in
development issues. WID was successful in helping secure a
prominent place for women’s issues at the United Nations (UN) and
other international development agencies.

• The UN declared 1975 to 1985 the Decade for Women. One of the
major achievements of the decade was the establishment of women
in development structures or machineries.
 Cont.
• Although the WID approach made demands for women’s inclusion in
development, it did not call for changes in the overall social structure or
economic system in which women were to be included.

• As such, WID concentrated narrowly on the inequalities between men and

women and ignored the social, cultural, legal and economic factors that
give rise to those inequalities in society.

• WID tended to focus on women almost exclusively and assumed that

women were outside the mainstream of development.
 2.2.2. Women and Development (WAD)
As the WID approach was criticized, the Women and Development (WAD)
approach arose in the latter part of the 1970s.
Adopting a Marxist feminist approach, the main argument of WAD was that
women as:
 part of the development processes.
 important economic actors.
The work they do both inside and outside the household is critical to the
maintenance of society.
However, this integration has only served to sustain global inequalities.
Therefore, the WID approach that placed emphasis on integrating women into
development was not correct.
• The main focus of WAD is on the interaction between women and
development processes rather than purely on strategies to integrate women
into development.
 Cont.
• WAD saw both women and men as not benefiting from the global
economic structures because of disadvantages due to class and the way
wealth is distributed.

• WAD therefore argued that the integration of women into development

was to their disadvantage and only made their inequality worse.

• WAD saw global inequalities as the main problem facing poor countries
and, therefore, the citizens of those countries.
 WAD
• WAD was very persuasive in raising the debate that women have a
role in reproduction and in production as well. For development to
be meaningful for women both these roles have to be
acknowledged.
• WAD has been criticized for assuming that the position of women
will improve if and when international structures become more
equitable.
• In so doing, it sees women’s positions as primarily within the
structure of international and class inequalities. It therefore
underplays the role of patriarchy in undermining women’s
development and does not adequately address the question of
social relations between men and women and their impact on
development.
 WAD
• It has been argued that, although at a theoretical level
WAD recognizes and focuses strongly on class, in
practical project design and implementation, it tends
like WID to group women together irrespective of
other considerations such as class divisions.
 2.2.3. Gender and Development (GAD)
• In the 1980s further reflections on the development experiences of women
gave rise to Gender and Development (GAD).
• GAD represented a coming together of many feminist ideas. It sought to
bring together both the lessons learned from, and the limitations of, the
WID and WAD approaches.
• GAD looks at the impact of development on both women and men.
• It seeks to ensure that both women and men participate in and benefit
equally from development and so emphasizes equality of benefit and
control.
 GAD
• It recognizes that women may be involved in development, but not
necessarily benefit from it.
• GAD is not concerned with women exclusively, but with the way in which
gender relations allot specific roles, responsibilities and expectations between
women and men, 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. As a result, we have seen
projects develop addressing issues such as violence against women.
• GAD focuses on the social or gender relations (i.e. the division of labour)
between women and men in society and seeks to address issues of access to
and control over resources and power
 GAD
• The GAD approach has also depicted that the gender division
of labour gives “triple roles” to women in society.
• The gender division of labour is dynamic and operates
differently from one society and culture to another.
• The way these roles are analyzed and valued affects the way
development projects will make certain things a priority or
not.
• Provision for child-care for instance is not likely to be a
priority among men planning for development but it is a
crucial factor in ensuring women may take advantage of
development opportunities for their benefit.
 GAD
• GAD goes further than the other approaches in
emphasizing 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 sees development as mainly economic well-being but
also as the social and mental wellbeing of a person is
important.
 GAD
• Arising from the GAD analysis, there is the need for women
to organize themselves into a more effective political voice
in order to strengthen their legal rights and increase the
number of women in decision-making as it can give its own
vote in the national budget and a better position from which
to influence policy.
 GAD
• Development theory has also changed from a focus on
needs to support for 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 b/c they did not challenge fundamentally the
structures that come in the way of women’s participation
in society on an equal basis with men.
PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN
• The debate on women and men has not just been about the theories
on the role of women but also on the practical approaches adopted
to secure women’s development..

• Over the years, the practical approaches to the developmental

challenges relating to women have developed and changed in
response to criticisms and the dynamics relating to women’s
development.

• These approaches are briefly discussed below:

PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN

1. The Welfare Approach

2. The Equity Approach
3. The Anti-Poverty Approach
4. The Efficiency Approach
5. The Empowerment Approach
 1. The Welfare Approach
• Until the early 1970s, development programmes addressed women’s needs within the
context of their reproductive roles i.e. focusing on meeting practical needs.

• The focus was on mother and child health, child-care and nutrition. Population control -
or family planning as it later came to be known - was a major focus as well due to the link
made between population growth and poverty.

• It was also assumed that broad economic strategies oriented towards modernisation and
growth would trickle down to the poor and that poor women would benefit as the
general economic situation improved.
 Cont
• But the assumptions that women’s position would improve together with
general improvements in the economy, or with the economic positions of their
husbands, began to be challenged as it became clear that women were in fact
losing out.
• Women, as a result, were being increasingly associated with backwardness and
the traditional while men were increasingly identified with the modern and
progressive.
• Men were assisted in this with economic development projects, such as the
introduction of cash crops, and new agricultural technologies that excluded
women.
 2. The Equity Approach
• Feminist calls for gender equality were important in bringing about this approach, the main aim was to

eliminate discrimination.

• It emphasized the revaluing of women’s contribution and share of benefits from development this meant

that the approach dealt with issues of policy and legal measures as a means of bringing about equity.

• The equity approach also dealt with both the productive and reproductive roles as a responsibility of

government.

• The equity approach, in contrast to the welfare approach, saw women as active participants organizing to

bring about necessary changes.

 3. The Anti-Poverty Approach

• This approach focuses on both the productive and reproductive role of

women with an emphasis on satisfaction of basic needs and the
productivity of women.

• A key operational strategy required access to income generation and

waged employment.

• The tendency with this approach was to reinforce the basic needs and
ignore the strategic needs of women.
 4. The Efficiency Approach
• The efficiency approach targets women as workers and is a product of
the 1980s’ economic reforms known as the Structural Adjustment
Programmes of the International Monetary fund and the World Bank.

• Its aim has been increased production and economic growth with an
emphasis on full use of human resources.

• Education and training are therefore key strategies.

• Advocates of this approach argue that gender analysis makes good

economic sense.
 Cont.
• This is because understanding men’s and women’s roles and responsibilities as part
of the planning of development activities helps improve effectiveness and ensures
that women, as well as men, can play their part in national development The
efficiency approach succeeded in bringing the concerns about women and gender
into the mainstream of development.

• However, this was done with a focus on what women could do for development,
rather than on what development could do for women.
 Cont.
• But the economic reforms in effect undervalue paid work as they seek
to restrict trade union activity and freeze wages of workers.

• They also burden women due to restrictions on social spending in areas

such as health and education.

• Women are therefore spending much more time in caring for the ill.

• In so burdening women the reforms hinder progress towards meeting

women’s strategic needs.
 5. The Empowerment Approach
• This is closely associated with third world feminist and grassroots
organizations.

• Its aim is to increase the self-reliance of women and to influence change at

the policy, legislative, societal, economic and other levels to their
advantage.

• Its main point of reference is the “triple roles” of women and it emphasizes
women’s access to decision-making.

• Its main strategy is awareness-raising and situates women firmly as active

participants in ensuring change takes place.
 Cont.
• Building organizational skills and self-esteem is an important aspect of the
empowerment approach.

• The empowerment approach has been instrumental in ensuring that

opportunities are opened for women to determine their own needs.

• However, empowerment has often been misunderstood to be an end rather

than a means.

• This has resulted in poor women becoming very knowledgeable about

issues while realising little change to their material situation, which is often
dire.
 Chapter Three:
Gender issues in the context of Ethiopian (Week 2)
3.1. Gender related problems in Ethiopia,
3.2. Approaches to gender issues during different Ethiopian regimes

References
• “World Bank (1998). Gender Issues in Ethiopia: Implementing the National
Policy on Women.
• Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Info-briefs; No. 119. Washington, DC.
World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9885
License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
 3.1. Gender related problems in Ethiopia,
Gender issues in Ethiopia : Implementing the National Policy on
Women

• The National Policy on Women (Women’s Policy) formulated in 1993,

aimed to create appropriate structures within government offices and
institutions to establish equitable and gender-sensitive public
policies.
• The Government of Ethiopia in 1995, under its new constitution,
renewed its commitment towards this policy.
 Cont.
• The more participatory and decentralized form of governance made the
implementation of the national policy a more challenging endeavor.
• There was correspondingly a great need to build the delivery capacity of
the regional governments.
• While the central level of government promoted gender-sensitive policies
and development interventions, very little was known about the
constraints and issues at the regional levels.
• The WID report examines and identifies institutional, legal, and regulatory
constraints on the expeditious and effective implementation of the
women’s policy.
• Interventions for women largely consist of ad hoc and unconnected self-
standing projects, which, if continued, will remain gender neutral and
ineffective in delivering benefits to women.
 Cont.
• The biggest challenge faced by the regional governments is that top-
down activities do not reach women effectively due to lack of
institutional capacity at the sub-regional level and because of lack of
participation in delivery assistance services.
• Moreover, the development plans for women were not demand-driven
and therefore failed to recognize substantial variations across regions.
• This resulted in women being disconnected from all development
interventions
 Legal and Regulatory Issues
• The use of patriarchal customary laws constrained women’s access to
resources.
• The legal framework prohibited poor women from entering informal labor
markets.
• Prevailing traditional gender biases exist against women in the allocation of
land.
• Women’s access to resources are limited due to biases resulting from the
family arbitration system.
• Women have no access to legal aid and are severely constrained in seeking
remedies from civil courts.
• Lack of women’s grassroots organizations prevents their participation in
development activities.
 Institutional Issues
• The responsibilities and roles of the Women’s Affairs Office are unclear and
inadequate.
• Regional governments lack the requisite institutional capacity to
successfully implement development policies.
• Women’ Offices are dependent on donors or NGOs due to the lack of a
capital budget.
• Constraints to the preparation and implementation of appropriate
development plans
• Lack of regional gender-desegregated data which limits the formulation of
gender-sensitive development interventions and responses.
• Absence of women’s groups because of cultural taboos.
• Weak collaboration with non-governmental or private entities.
 The way forward
• Consistent Public Policy: Public policy should be made consistent by amending
discriminatory provisions in the civil court which promote traditional gender biases.

• Mitigation of the Impact of Inequitable Customary Laws: (i) Examine the

applicability of customary laws by making women aware of their legal rights; and
(ii) strengthen awareness of women’s roles and rights by building consensus against
customary practices.

• Increased Access of Women to Economic and Productive Resources: Regional

governments need to (i) increase women’s access to land and natural resources; (ii)
facilitate the entry of poor women into labor markets through access to credits.
• Better access to legal services for women needs to be provided: (i) By
community leaders being sensitized to legal issues; (ii) through training of
women family arbitrators; (iii) through the establishment of small legal funds
for poor women who need legal services.

• Affirmative action is needed to provide women access to civil and village

councils; legal and regulatory procedures should be made minimal to
facilitate the formation and working of small grassroots groups.
• The regional government needs to: (i) Strengthen the technical capacity of
women to implement schemes (ii) increase awareness of gender issues at its
bureaus and amongst partners involved in formulating development plans,
in particular in its sub-regional entities.
• Gender-sensitive development plans should be the mandate of the regional
planning bureaus which incorporate monitorable indicators for policy
formulation and project planning.
• Regional governments should provide incentives to bureaus that undertake
gender-responsive development plans.
• Regional governments need to delegate power and responsibilities to
Women’s Affairs Bureaus and Women’s Affairs Departments for them to
carry out their mandates effectively.
• Furthermore, proper evaluation and monitoring systems need to be in place
to prevent incorrect gender-disaggregated data from negatively impacting
the programs.
 Next Steps
• A Bank-assisted WID project leading out of the recommendations and finding
of the report is under consideration for Ethiopia.
• The proposed project aims to assist socially and economically vulnerable
women to benefit from the increasingly expanding economy and private
sector opportunities.
• It will seek to improve the standard of living of women and contribute to
poverty alleviation.
• Addressing the constraints to implementing the National Policy on Women
and supporting the establishment of grassroots women’s organizations will
build women’s ability to organize themselves to effectively voice their
concerns and preferences about their economic, social and civic rights.
 3.2. Approaches to gender issues during different Ethiopian regimes
• Gender inequality is costing Sub-Saharan African economies on average
$US95 billion a year, peaking atUS$105 billion n 2014 – or 6% of the region’s
GDP– jeopardizing the continent’s efforts for inclusive human development
and economic growth (AfHDR, 2016).
• Ethiopia being a Sub-Saharan African country had exceptional, perhaps,
interesting history in Africa from the perspective of women roles in its
society.
• The country had more women queens and empresses throughout its history
practically than any other African country (Pankhurst, 1990), has the oldest
known women queens in Africa (Koltuv, 1993; Van Beek, 1994) and purports
to be committed to gender equality, but ended up undermining its own
objectives of achieving gender parity in its contemporary society.
 Cont.
• Given this narrative, it is a puzzling issue for social and political scientists that the
question of gender equality is yet to be addressed by Ethiopian society in general
and the policy makers thereof in particular.

• The post-socialist Ethiopia since 1991 crafted a policy framework which is neither
centrally planned type, nor the Laissez-faire policy suggested by the mainstream
orthodox policy argument, as it can be implied from the constitution of the
federal democratic republic of Ethiopia.

• Despite the constitutional patronages for the rights and roles of women in
Ethiopian society, the government failed to live up to its rhetoric due to structural
and institutional constraints (Burgess, 2013).
• Women play an essential role in every household chores including
collection of fire woods for lighting, cooking, heating as well as care for
children (Burgess, 2013; Gebreselassie, 1988; McDowell, 1999).

• Because women and girls are primarily responsible for the massive of
unpaid household work, engendering policies to change the social roles of
women is a very essential initial step but insufficient to bring gender parity
to the socio-economic system.
• As a result of legal and policy-based actions, the position of women in Ethiopia has been
improving over the last two decades (AfHDR, 2016; Kumar and Quisumbing, 2015).

• However, negations and gaps in protecting certain basic rights of women continue to exist
due to the century-long engraved social structure attributing low status to women.

• The Government has actively – both through law and policy – sought to improve the
status of women.

• Initially driven by the reformist movement in the post socialist Ethiopia, women’s issues
and concerns were taken forward by the nationalist movements and subsequently
sustained by the global women’s movement context with the commitment of the political
elites in Ethiopia
 Cont
• Women in Ethiopia continued to struggle for basic rights and property rights, in spite
of several protective legislations (Burgess, 2013).
• Women’s access to resources, such as land, credit, skill training, and education in
particular, is relatively poor, while they still carry the burden of a ‘double shift’ at
home cooking, cleaning, caring for the young and the old, adversely impacting their
abilities to contribute to and compete effectively in the labor market (Emebet, 2010;
Helen,1992).
• The problem of gender inequality in Ethiopia has to be understood not simply in the
context of its exceptional history of more queens and empresses than any other
African country, but with the transformative nature of its gender equality policies in
the context of male dominated hegemonic institutional and social structure.
• Despite all the efforts exerted, Ethiopian women are still challenged by the
incidence of gender inequality. They often face unpaid household works and
low-grade jobs in government offices.

• At this juncture, therefore, one would not be at fault to ask whether the
gender policy in Ethiopia is indeed transformational.

• The mainstream policy suggests the integrationist approach which focuses

on the participation of women in the existing policy paradigm without
questioning the existing male-dominated hegemonic social structure (Sen,
1979; Nussbaum, 2001).
• This approach emphasizes on equality of opportunity and participation of
women in policy process to bring about gender parity (Beveridge & Nott,
2002).

• However, the transformational policy paradigm focuses on building the

capability of women to deliberate on and question the existing social
structure that adversely affects those (Giri, 2000; Sen, 1999).

• Transformative potential of policies entails improving the ‘ability on the part

of poor women to question, analyze, and act on the structures of patriarchal
constraint in their lives’(M. Kabeer, 2005; Nussbaum, 2001).
• In a similar fashion, Verloo (2005) argued that it is too simple to assume that
the participation of women will lead directly to fundamental change in itself’
and transform ‘the hegemonic order’.

• This is because ‘under conditions of inequality, deliberative processes will

tend to serve dominant groups, and subordinated groups will not get the
opportunity to properly think through and articulate their interests’ (Kabeer,
2005; Nussbaum, 2001).

• This makes the participation of women a necessary but insufficient condition

for transformation and countering ‘ongoing hegemonization’ (Verloo, 2005)
 Chapter Four:
Women Empowerment(Weeks 3 & 4).
4.1. Women’s Political, Social & Economic empowerment and their main roles in
these aspects
4.2. The Status of Women in Ethiopia (social, economic, cultural, political & legal
status)
4.3. Factors Affecting women’s Empowerment
4.4. Some Women Empowering policy frame works in Ethiopia
4.4.1 Health policy
4.4.2. Reproductive health Strategy
4.4.3. Education policy
 Cont.
4.4.4. The National Policy on Ethiopian Women
4.4.5. Population policy
4.4.6. Economic policy
4.5. Measurement and Indicators of Empowerment
References
• Women’s Empowerment Principles Equality Means Business at
http://www.unifem.org/partnerships/womens_empowerment_princi
ples/
• UN (2010). Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment and
Strengthening Development Cooperation.’ Department of Economic
and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/pdfs/10-
50143_(e)_(desa)dialogues_ecosoc_achieving_gender_equality_wom
 4.1. Women’s Political, Social & Economic empowerment and
their main roles in these aspects
Women Empowerment
Empowerment defined as a “multi-dimensional social process:

• helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a

• fosters power in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their
society, by acting on issues defined as important” (Page and Czuba, 1999). In the
same way,

women's empowerment: “women's ability to make strategic life choices where that
ability had been previously denied them” (Malhotra et al., 2009). Accordingly,
empowerment is central to the processes of maintaining the benefits of women at
individual, household, community and broader levels (Malhotra et al., 2009).
 Cont.
Empowerment (a) is a process, (b) occurs in communities (and in
organizations), (c) involves active participation, critical reflection, awareness
and understanding (i.e., consciousness raising about the influence of powerful
political and economic structures and interests), and (d) involves access to and
control over important decisions and resources.

Empowerment is not only a process, however. It can also be thought of as the

life and outlook-changing outcome of such a process for individuals,
organizations, and whole communities.
 Cont.
Generally, women, even if playing an important role in development, are
neglected and marginalized in the process of development.

• Empowerment of women is essential for development.

• A few critical areas of gender empowerment and development are:

 economic empowerment,

 political empowerment, and

 social empowerment.

These are briefly discussed here under.

 i. Economic Empowerment
The economic participation of women in the workforce, in qualitative terms, is
important :
• for lowering the disproportionate levels of poverty among women,
• as an important step towards raising household incomes and encouraging
economic development in the countries as a whole.
• Scholars argue that women need to be seen less as passive recipients of help
and more as dynamic promoters of social transformation; and the education,
employment, and ownership rights of women have a powerful influence on
thei ability to control their environment and contribute to economic
development.
 Cont.
• Economically empowering women and young women offers an
effective and sustainable way of ensuring economic growth reaches
the most vulnerable and that economic development is inclusive. A
growing body of evidence shows that placing women in the center of
the development agenda can increase efficiency in the management
of institutions and resources.
 Why is it important?
Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s rights and
gender equality. Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps
are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However,
gender gaps in economic development and livelihoods continue to be a barrier
to women´s socio-economic empowerment and these gender gaps are well-
documented:

• In most countries women do more unpaid work, including domestic and care
work, limiting women’s ability to enter and progress in the labour market.
(OECD, The Pursuit of Gender Equality, 2017)
 Cont.
• According to the World Bank, globally, over 2.7 billion women are legally
restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men.
• In 18 countries, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working;
• Women’s access to economic opportunities is undermined by their lower
access to production inputs.
• Access to productive assets constrains women’s economic opportunities,
whether women farmers or micro-entrepreneurs
• Female farmers have less access to information, as agricultural extension
networks are dominated by men.
• Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, women are disproportionately limited in
their land ownership and transfer rights.
 Factors affecting women economic empowerment

• The positive factors such as age, education level of the women,

accessibility to land, access to capital, and access to health facilities of
women encouraged women to participate in economic activities while the
negative factors such as illiteracy, lack of capital, men refusing their wives
to work hindered women from participating in economic activities.
However, despite government’s efforts to promote women emancipation
and gender equality, women are still lagging behind in the participation of
economic activities..
 Women´s Social Empowerment
Women´s Social Empowerment refers to the ability of women and girls to act
individually and collectively to change social relationships and the institutions
and discourses that exclude them and keep them in poverty.

At home, this for instance involves the ability of women to decide and discuss
with their partner whether or not to use contraceptives. Outside their home, it
means that women and girls can build positive relationships, participate in social
activities and decision making, without being restricted by gender norms.
 What does empowerment mean in government?

• . Political empowerment refers to the process of transferring various

elements of power (resources, capabilities, and positions) to those
who do not have it. Political empowerment requires inclusion in
democratic decision-making processes.
 Cont.
• A common understanding of political empowerment (the transfer of power
to those who do not have it) embraces the definition of power in
distributive terms. Following this understanding, political empowerment
must include giving access to various political offices, including positions in
the government, to the members of disadvantaged populations. The
literature on political empowerment attempts to assess the impact of
access to political offices on the overall well-being of minorities.
Factors Affecting women’s Empowerment
Women's empowerment has five components:
• women's sense of self-worth;
• their right to have and to determine choices;
• their right to have access to opportunities and resources;
• their right to have power to control their own lives, both within and
outside the home; and
• their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a
more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally...
 Cont.

• In this context, education, training, awareness raising, building self-

confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control
over resources, and actions to transform the structures and
institutions that reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and
inequality are important tools for empowering women and girls to
claim their rights.