Women Gender And Development In The Caribbean

Publisher Description

Contains 23 papers originally published in 1988 which discuss, inter alia, interdisciplinary research on models and theories of gender and development, historical perspectives of feminism, ideology and culture, and women's organization.

A collection of essays by a number of outstanding women of the Caribbean on the situation of women in the region, in the period since the Beijing Conference of 1995. Examining a range of issues including education, poverty, decision-making, and violence, the authors expose continuing burdens and disadvantages faced by women.

For more than two decades, feminist activists in the Caribbean have been researching, teaching, writing and collaborating with organisations and groups at all levels to improve the status of women, and to protect and advance their rights. This volume, Gender in the 21st Century, commemorates the pioneering work of feminists, scholars and activists by reflecting on some of the major issues which have engaged them and influenced their scholarship and work since the early 1980s. It also addresses issues at the cutting edge of Gender and Development Studies, adopting a strong policy focus for treating current social and gender inequity. Finally, the volume looks to the future and speculates on the place of gender in the academy, as well as its outreach, and provides a unique opportunity to explore, with highly respected and renowned scholars, aspects of the present state of Gender Studies and prospects for the future of this dynamic area of scholarship.

This volume brings together a wide range of research findings, theoretical perspectives, and policy prescriptions in a study of gender issues as they relate to the Caribbean region. It highlights the key issues as well as the wide range of Caribbean countries' experiences.

Recent discussion of postmodern culture describes a movement from center to periphery, privileging cultures that were formerly marginalized. Women and Change in the Caribbean, a study of women marginalized by both gender and race in a region such as the Caribbean—itself marginalized in global terms—attempts to extract insights relevant both within and beyond geographical confines. This volume offers a feminist interpretation of a multicultural society emerging from colonialism and in the process of change and restructuring. The nineteen chapters include case studies of fifteen different Caribbean territories including Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Grenada, and Guyana. The book is divided into two sections: the first looks at women's status and gender relations in the private and public spheres; the second looks at women's economic activity. Taking a broad pan-Caribbean comparative view contributors discuss territories with American, British, Dutch, Danish, French, and Spanish colonial traditions and current political links. The contributors come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including agriculture, anthropology, economics, geography, history, sociology, and women's studies.