Gender Bias in Development Economics - Assignment Example

Introduction Economic development is an aspect that every nation strives to enhance despite the challenges therein. The overall economic development in a nation is very essential. This means that all people’s lifestyles are changed for the better. Gender disparities have been quite prevalent in relation to economic development of third world nations. This paper generally looks at the development theory and any possible gender bias therein. There is also discussion on women’s role in the entire process of economic development in the third world economies. (Addison, 2005) Critical analysis of gender bias in the development theory The development theory consists of various theories incorporated together. Analysis of these theories shows that there are some of them that have gender bias. There are other theories that do not have any gender biasness whatsoever. In the modernization theory of development, it is explained that the entire process of development is linear in nature. In this theory, every nation that has to develop has to follow the same process. In this case, it explains that development has to emanate from a central area as it expands to the outer fringes. This theory asserts that for any developing nation to grow economically, the developed nations have to spur the developed ones. This theory defines both the traditional and the modern societies. For people to be modernized, then they have to access education. Analysis of this theory does not show any gender bias whatsoever. This is due to the fact that education is deemed as important and can be accessed by all which will ultimately result in development. Criticisms of this theory assert that development is enhanced only to come from the core of which mostly men manage to be there. When this theory is viewed in this context, then it would be perceived as biased towards men. Another development theory is that of world systems. It was started by a man called Wallerstein. In this theory, the system is subdivided into the periphery, semi-periphery and the core sectors. This is where the semi periphery is in between the core and the periphery. This theory however asserts that inequality is not in any way linked to growth. Analysis of this theory shows that it is not sensitive to gender. This is bearing in mind that many developing nations have got gender inequalities. Therefore this theory is seen as not being quite gender sensitive. (Cypher, 2004) There is the state theory. This theory of development states that any economy is highly linked to politics. There is also the assertion that development is exclusive in every nation. That means that development in one nation should not be compared to another due to the difference in political issues. This theory highly recognizes the importance of social relations in the society and their overall importance in development. This means that external influence is paramount in any decision making process that is linked to economic development. This theory is not gender biased in any way and in fact it enhances all people to contribute towards the economic development in a nation. This means that all stakeholders are seen as equal participants despite their sex. One of the theories is that which was developed by Ginsberg. In this theory, there is the explanation that one has to go through various stages before they excel career wise and hence be developed. They include the dreaming, cautious and the realistic stages. There are also other sub-stages that influence development. They are the specification, crystallization and the exploration stage. The exploration stage is whereby a teenager restricts his or her career choices based on their abilities, likes and dislikes. They later on make choices in the crystallization stage. They then pursue education in line with the earlier made choices. Analysis of this theory shows that there are some issues or aspects that affect development. They include social class and gender issues. (Buvinic, 2005) The information that is shown above clearly shows that there are some theories in the development that exhibit some aspects of gender biasness. While some of them do not have any aspects of gender bias. These theories in most cases normally stipulate what happens in the general society. They form the backbone of decisions that different nations make in relation to development. That is why they need to be reviewed and the necessary corrections made. Discussion on women's role in the process of economic development in third world economies In discussing the role of women in economic development in the third world economies one has to understand how the girl child is raised in these nations. Most girls are shielded from getting out of the home for the fear that they might get pregnant or even raped. Most parents do not see education of the girl child as important. Their reasoning is that even when the child prospers, she will not benefit the natal family but her husband’s. That makes parents to go the extra mile in educating male children as compared to the girl child. The fundamental academic interests in equal opportunities and fairness in the society has continued to generate contentious debates over the past few years. The effect of gender differences in educational outcomes and achievements for example, has become one of the hot debates in the media and in the educational circles. (Deniz, 2004) The debate on this issue which has been carried out both in academic and popular settings focuses on the relative contributions of environmental and biological determinants i.e. nature vs. nurture on the behaviors, attitudes and academic achievements of both boys and girls in a class. Further analysis shows that in a group of eight hundred and fifty million illiterate people in developing nations, five hundred and forty million are women. Illiteracy levels of women in these nations are approximately forty two percent as compared to men who have a percentage of twenty. (Diane, 2005) It is also very important to note that since the last two decades, remarkable changes have been made in improving people’s living standards in third world nations. This includes declines in levels of illiteracy and infant mortality rates. Analysis shows that despite such remarkable changes, women consist of the majority of the poor population. So generally what role do they play in economic development? In as much as illiteracy levels are declining in these nations, research shows that women are not encouraged to pursue some careers. The culture in the third world economies puts women in the kitchen as a place where they can show their success. Mere success in class does not warrant respect from the society. This makes young girls not to strive to excel when in school. Furthermore, in case they manage to pursue further education, their husbands expect so much of them and prefer them to do household chores than go to work. There are also inhibitions in pursuing science mathematics and also technology related careers. Girls are raised up believing that such careers are only meant for men only. (Diane, 2005) Research in higher education institutions shows that the ratio of young women to men that take up science and technical subjects is very low. Men who take these courses are approximately eighty five percent compared to women who are approximately fifteen percent. Usually girls and women in third world economies have lesser probability of accessing basic needs, credit, land, education and even training in technical subjects. This generally makes their male counterparts to have so much contribution in economic development. Research shows that the duties or roles of women in third word nations can actually be divided into three major categories. (Jacobson, 1993) First of all there is the role where they are engaged in some income generating projects. The income generating projects are of very low income. One finds that women only do small income businesses like selling of groceries, cleaning and laundry services. The income generated from such businesses is very little and it becomes very hard for them to save. Analysis of third world economies shows that men whose wives have such businesses normally shun their responsibilities. This happens even if the men have stable jobs. This makes women to cater for all the other responsibilities. They include providing basic needs, health expenses and even paying school fees for their children. Most men simply refuse to pay school fees for girls and only educate boys. This is especially girls’ education at the tertiary levels. Secondly, they are involved in management of their households. Third, they are involved in nurturing and reproductive aspects. Analysis in these nations reveals that women work longer hours than men. Most of the women who are poor work approximately twelve to nineteen hours. On the other hand, men work for approximately nine to twelve hours. Most of the women in third world nations work in the home and till their land. Their tasks include sewing, weaving, soap-making, subsistence farming, small scale trading, household chores, caring for animals and the elderly. The men mostly do chores where they get some cash at the end of the day. (Jameson, 1996) Studies show that eighty two percent of the food that is consumed domestically in Africa is produced by women. It is very clear that women play a remarkable role in the economic development in third world nations. They are however quite constrained by many factors. It is also clear that if women in these nations would be given same access to some factors as their male counterparts, then the overall output would be increased by approximately twenty five percent. This is very clear since women in third world economies do not have full access to credit from financial institutions. The cultures in these nations for instance do not allow women to own land. Only a small percentage of the women own land title deeds. This makes it very hard for then to acquire loans since title deeds are required by banks and other financial institutions as collateral. While women can actually play a very big role in development of the third world nations, they are not given the chance. It is very clear that when planning is carried out both at the household and the national levels, women are not consulted. That explains why there are very few women ministers in third world nations yet they form majority of the population. Men view themselves as the ultimate decision makers who need not consult women concerning economic development issues. Policies are just enacted without consultation of women. This clearly shows that although women in third world nations have so much potential, they are not able to play a big role due to cultural inhibitions. This can actually be described as gender bias against women. (Momsen, 1991) Many of the few learned women in developing nations are not employed. This is due to the issue of gender bias in employment sectors. Men are viewed as better performers than women. There is also the issue where employers demand sex in exchange of jobs. Most of the girls who shun away don’t get jobs. They end up staying without sources of income and hence fail to contribute towards the economic development of the nation fully. On the other hand, there have been misperceptions on the role women play in economic development in third world economies. As earlier on illustrated, women in these nations are not highly involved in money related chores. Despite this fact, they actually play a big role in the economic development. For instance, farming sustains many economies in the third world nations. This is practiced by eighty percent of women. Without women carrying out small income generating businesses to sustain their families, the men would not manage to invest their income. Further analysis shows that husbands use their wives ideas of investment though they simply do not admit this fact. This shows that women also play a role in the process of economic development of these nations. Most of the jobs that women have, give them very little income enough for their basic needs only. Very few women in third world nations have invested in the stock exchange market. Their income levels are evident in the fact that a small percentage of them have bank accounts. (Todaro, 2005) They mainly work in the informal sector and good number is domestic workers and even prostitutes. This clearly indicates that women do not contribute much to the economic development of their nations. All this has been spurred by gender bias in education and employment sector. Conclusion Gender bias is a topic that has been highly debated by many scholars. This is especially in relation to economic development in third world economies. The theory of development is a conglomeration of many theories. This includes the modernization theory of development. The theory asserts that development has to start from a central place as it spreads to the other areas. Education is deemed as important in the process of economic development. This theory does not show any gender biasness in it. Some scholars have however criticised this theory because it shows that development only starts at the centre only. This could show that the other sectors or people that are not based at the centre do not contribute to development. The other theory of development includes the world systems. This theory of development has divisions like the periphery, semi-periphery and core. It asserts that development emanates from all these three areas. This theory however states that inequalities in any society are not related to development. This shows that this theory is gender biased because any inequalities in a society are normally linked to development in one way or another to the economic development. The role of women in the economic development of third world economies can be described as that which is at the periphery. There is high gender bias especially in the education sector. Women are not highly incorporated in decision making that is related to development of third world nations. There is high percentage of illiteracy levels in men as compared to men. This makes men easily access white collar jobs. Women cannot easily access loans from financial institutions like banks since they lack collateral. Most financial institutions require land title deeds as collateral for loans. The men are the ones who own title deeds. This has made women to do some low income generating projects like selling groceries. They work most hours of the day compared to men. They are mostly engaged in farming, housekeeping and small scale business. All in all they play a role towards development of third world economies though to a lesser degree. They have the potential of doing more if they get support from the government and other non governmental organisations. Read More