Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: development policy, agency and Africa in the post-2015 development agenda
- one The post-2015 development agenda: Building a global convergence on policy options
- two Debating post-2015 development-oriented reforms in Africa: agendas for action
- three Public diplomacy for developmental states: implementing the African Mining Vision
- four The role of gender in development: where do boys count?
- five Service-oriented government: the developmental state and service delivery in Africa after 2015 – are capacity indicators important?
- six Employment creation for youth in Africa: the role of extractive industries
- seven Financing the post-2015 development agenda: domestic revenue mobilisation in Africa
- eight Economic performance and social progress in Sub-Saharan Africa: the effect of least developed countries and fragile states
- nine From regional integration to regionalism in Africa: building capacities for the post-Millennium Development Goals agenda
- ten Reforming the Development Banks’ Country Policy and Institutional Assessment as an aid allocation tool: the case for country self-assessment
- eleven Development and sustainability in a warming world: measuring the impacts of climate change in Africa
- twelve African development through peace and security to sustainability
- thirteen African development, political economy and the road to Agenda 2063
- Notes
- Index
four - The role of gender in development: where do boys count?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 March 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: development policy, agency and Africa in the post-2015 development agenda
- one The post-2015 development agenda: Building a global convergence on policy options
- two Debating post-2015 development-oriented reforms in Africa: agendas for action
- three Public diplomacy for developmental states: implementing the African Mining Vision
- four The role of gender in development: where do boys count?
- five Service-oriented government: the developmental state and service delivery in Africa after 2015 – are capacity indicators important?
- six Employment creation for youth in Africa: the role of extractive industries
- seven Financing the post-2015 development agenda: domestic revenue mobilisation in Africa
- eight Economic performance and social progress in Sub-Saharan Africa: the effect of least developed countries and fragile states
- nine From regional integration to regionalism in Africa: building capacities for the post-Millennium Development Goals agenda
- ten Reforming the Development Banks’ Country Policy and Institutional Assessment as an aid allocation tool: the case for country self-assessment
- eleven Development and sustainability in a warming world: measuring the impacts of climate change in Africa
- twelve African development through peace and security to sustainability
- thirteen African development, political economy and the road to Agenda 2063
- Notes
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Most analyses of gender in development focus on the role of women or the differentiated impact of the development on women. Recent attention of external aid programmes and the rising violence against women in a number of countries, coupled with evidence of disparity in development results when the role of men and women is differentiated, has further clarified the issue by focusing on women and girls. Furthermore, gender has come up as a central issue in the post-2015 identification of priorities following an assessment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and efforts to define a new framework for channelling policy attention on a global level, such as through the Sustainable Development Goals (UN Women, 2013).
Gender inequalities have been extensively identified as underpinning the five clusters of the MDGs, namely, poverty and sustainable development; access to services; care and care giving; voice and agency; and international partnerships and accountability (Jones et al, 2010). It has long been argued that it is important to address the structural causes of gender-based discrimination. Organisations like UN Women have been set up to tackle the obstacles that have an impact on gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment by supporting the underlying transformation in target areas such as violence against women and girls, inclusion in distribution of capabilities, services and assets, as well as equality in decision-making power in public and private institutions (UN Women, 2013). Attention to implementation has led policy-makers to look for practical ways to address gender-based violence as well as equality in access to resources such as finance (see, for example, Kim et al, 2007).
This chapter investigates the potential or real negative effects of a focus solely on women, and identifies areas where a focus on men, and in particular young men, may be beneficial to achieving development results. Arguments are presented for a differentiated role of gender in policy design and evaluation and for gender-disaggregated data to appropriately assess the evidence of critical policies for development. Five selected issues are investigated. The first relates to the shifting perspectives on the role of gender in development. Second is consideration of the role of globalisation on the quality of life and status of women.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Development in AfricaRefocusing the Lens after the Millennium Development Goals, pp. 111 - 134Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2015