1. Gender and Development
ICPS Course 2015
Henri Myrttinen

2. Brief background International Alert
Working since 28 years in peacebuilding, currently in 20+ countries in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia
Peacebuilding Issues Programme
Research & Gender Strand:
Re-thinking Gender in Peacebuilding
Measuring Peace Project

3. Gender and Development
GAD, WID and gender mainstreaming: a primer and an analysis
Economic, social and developmental role of gender equity
Existing problems in gender equity
Gender, the MDGs and Post 2015
Overcoming cultural barriers to gender equity
New directions in gender: possibilities for changing paradigms

4. Gender – a quick re-cap
Not only about women, but importantly also about women
Gender (social, cultural) vs. biological sex
Gender about
Power
Identity
Norms and expectations
Values
Possibilities and vulnerabilities

5. Gender, economy, society
Gender not only variable, needs to be seen in context and conjunction with age, class, education, caste, dis-/ability, marital status, ethnic background, location, time…
No society has achieved gender equality
Patriarchal dividends
Gender often central to opportunities for education, forms of labour, access to resources and information, gendered networks of patronage
Public vs. private, productive vs. reproductive labour

6. WID, WAD, GAD…
‘Development’ seen initially (and sometimes still) as ‘gender neutral’
Women in Development (WID) – taking women’s particular needs and roles into account (early 1970s)
Women and Development – more focus on female agency (late 1970s)
Gender and development (GAD) – more focus on gender relations (1980s onwards)
Too simple? Too complex?
Is gender taken seriously?

7. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
To achieve universal primary education
To promote gender equality
To reduce child mortality
To improve maternal health
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
To ensure environmental sustainability
To develop a global partnership for development

8. Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) – ‘post-2015’
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

9. SDGs (cont’d) Reduce inequality within and among countries
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

10. SDGs (cont’d)
169 proposed targets for these goals and 304 proposed indicators to show compliance
UN Sustainable Development Summit September 25th-27th, 2015 in New York
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”
COP 21 in Paris, Dec 2015

11. Overcoming cultural barriers when working on gender
Is gender relevant? (If people are involved in any way: yes)
Is gender a foreign import? (Only if humans and other multi-cellular animals are a foreign import to a given context)
Challenges: make gender relevant, make it tangible and visible
Sometimes better not to use the term, but focus on the issues

12. New directions? Gender mainstreaming (beyond rhetoric)
Gender-relational approaches
Men and boys as agents of change (and as victims)
Sexual and gender minorities