Feminists In Development Organizations

Feminists in Development Organizations arises from a collaborative project between 2007 and 2012 in which a group of feminists working inside the head offices of multilateral organizations, government aid agencies and international non-governmental organizations came together to critically reflect on their work. The personal stories in this book show that these feminists are 'tempered radicals' positioned on the border of the development agencies that employ them. It is a place where they are neither fully one thing nor another: neither fully paid-up, pen-pushing bureaucrats, nor full-blown feminist activists on the barricades. Nevertheless, feminist bureaucrats see their work as urgent, essential and a necessary contribution to global efforts to achieve women's rights. This book reflects on the progress of gender mainstreaming. It shows how feminists can build effective strategies to influence development organizations to foster greater understanding and forge more effective alliances for social change. This book is aimed at staff of development organizations - who want their organizations to become an instrument in helping transforming the lives of women - and at students and researchers concerned with the politics of gender mainstreaming.

Feminists in Development Organizations arises from a collaborative project of feminists working inside the head offices of multilateral organizations, government aid agencies and international NGOs. The personal stories in this book show that these feminists are 'tempered radicals' positioned on the border of the development agencies that employ them. It is a place where they are neither fully one thing nor another: neither fully paid-up, pen-pushing bureaucrats, nor full-blown feminist activists on the barricades. Nevertheless, feminist bureaucrats see their work as urgent, essential and a necessary contribution to global efforts to achieve women's rights. This book shows how feminists can build effective strategies to influence development organizations to foster greater understanding and forge more effective alliances for social change. This book is aimed at staff of development organizations and students and researchers concerned with the politics of gender mainstreaming.

Has feminism transformed development studies? What happens to feminist theory and practice within the development industry?This book brings together a variety of feminist ativists and academics, from both North and South, engaged in development, to answer these questions. Each describes her project and its feminist rationale, and analyses it through three fundamental challenges:the problem of making a feminist agenda work within development agencies, including the difficulties of finding funding and the constraints imposed by funders;the ethical and methodological issues raised by feminism - including the differences between women and the legitimacy of studying 'the Other';the challenge of international feminism: looking for new ways to work together for global change without imposing 'Western feminism' on Southern women.Including feminist projects from the 'South in the North', the book explores how 'global feminism' actually works in a variety of ways, through both activism and academic research. It is a fascinating insight into the challenges and rewards of feminist theory in practice. As such it is necessary reading for practitioners, policy-makers, activists and academics in gender and development as well as all students and academics of women's studies.

The struggle for the advancement of women's rights and gender equality globally is impossible without strong women's organizations and movements to provide leadership and momentum. But what does a strong women's organization look like? And what does it take to create effective and sustainable women's movements? This groundbreaking collection of essays by activists from all corners of the globe explores what it means to be an influential women's organization, and what it takes to build the kinds of movements needed to transform women's lives. From how to build successful participatory democratic processes and implement shared leadership models, to lessons on overcoming internal organizational divisions, the case studies in this collection focus not only on the "what" but also the "how" of movement building. Those concerned with how to effect sustainable change will find not only much food for thought, but also an abundance of creative ideas and innovative strategies - served up with a uniquely feminist twist.

Through a series of case studies written by women in development organizations this book reflects on the progress of gender mainstreaming. It shows how feminists can build effective strategies to influence development organizations and attempts to foster greater understanding and forge more effective alliances for social change.

A resource book that surveys literature and current thought on the "women in development" debate from a feminist perspective. Women's development experiences, their struggles for rights, and their continued ability to mobilize and organize themselves to execute change are examined.

This up-to-date text offers a clear and cogent introduction to women in development. Exploring the global structures and processes that impede or support the empowerment of women, Jana Everett and Sue Ellen M. Charlton use a feminist lens to understand contemporary gender roles. Without such a lens, they argue, our understanding of globalization and development is incomplete, resulting in flawed policies that fail to improve the lives of millions of people around the globe. After a set of introductory chapters that conceptually frame the issues, the authors then investigate women’s struggles within and against globalization and development through powerful case studies of sex trafficking, water, work, and health. These chapters, by using specific examples, develop the concepts of structure and agency, levels of analysis, and feminist approaches as tools to help students understand the complexities of development and alternative strategies. Through rich interdisciplinary analysis, Everett and Charlton explore the individual and collective strategies women have used to improve their lives under globalization and weigh how effective they have been. Their book will be an essential resource in women’s studies, political science, political economy, anthropology, sociology, and development studies.

The economic and political empowerment of women continues to be a central focus for development agencies worldwide; access to medical care, education and employment, as well as women's reproductive rights remain key factors effecting women's autonomy. Feminisms, Empowerment and Development explores what women are doing to change their own personal circumstances whilst providing an in-depth analysis of collective action and institutionalized mechanisms aimed at changing structural relations. Drawing on unique, original research and approaching empowerment as a complex process of negotiation, rather than a linear sequence of inputs and outcomes, this crucial collection highlights the difficulty of creating common agendas for the advancement of women's power and rights, and argues for a more nuanced, context-based approach to development theory and practice. An indispensible text for anyone interested in gender and development, this book shows that policies and approaches to development that view women as instrumental to other objectives will never promote women's empowerment as they fail to address the structures by which gender inequality is perpetuated over time.