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Beyond Naivety: Women, Gender Inequality and Participatory Development

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  • Linda Mayoux

Abstract

In recent years, participatory development has become an established orthodoxy among development agencies across the political spectrum; at the same time, the importance of consulting with and recruiting women has been highlighted in most discussions of participatory strategies. Drawing on the author's own research and a range of secondary sources, this article focuses on gender aspects of participatory projects. The evidence suggests that gender inequalities in resources, time availability and power, influence the activities, priorities and framework of participatory projects just as much as ‘top‐down’ development and market activities. Contrary to the view of a number of writers and activists on participatory development, increasing the numbers of women involved in participatory projects cannot, therefore, be seen as a soft alternative to specific attention to change in gender inequality. Meeting the demands of poor women in the South will require not only local participatory projects, but a linking with wider movements for change in the national and international development agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Mayoux, 1995. "Beyond Naivety: Women, Gender Inequality and Participatory Development," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 235-258, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:26:y:1995:i:2:p:235-258
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.1995.tb00551.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Linda Mayoux, 1995. "Alternative vision or Utopian fantasy?: Cooperation, empowerment and women's cooperative development in India," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 7(2), pages 211-228, March.
    2. David Mosse, 1994. "Authority, Gender and Knowledge: Theoretical Reflections on the Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 497-526, July.
    3. Jane L. Parpart, 1993. "Who is the ‘Other‘?: A Postmodern Feminist Critique of Women and Development Theory and Practice," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 439-464, July.
    4. Saskia Wieringa, 1994. "Women's Interests and Empowerment: Gender Planning Reconsidered," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 829-848, October.
    5. Virginia Vargas, 1992. "The Feminist Movement in Latin America: Between Hope and Disenchantment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 195-214, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rajalaxmi Kamath & Abhi Dattasharma, 2017. "Women and Household Cash Management: Evidence from Financial Diaries in India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(1), pages 73-92, January.
    2. Sarker, Debnarayan & Das, Nimai, 2001. "Women’s Participation in Forestry: Some Theoretical and Empirical Issues," MPRA Paper 14804, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Balasubramanya, Soumya, 2019. "Effects of training duration and the role of gender on farm participation in water user associations in Southern Tajikistan: Implications for irrigation management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 1-11.
    4. Mike Kesby, 2007. "Spatialising Participatory Approaches: The Contribution of Geography to a Mature Debate," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(12), pages 2813-2831, December.
    5. Bipasha Baruah, 2009. "Monitoring progress towards gender-equitable poverty alleviation," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 9(3), pages 171-186, July.
    6. Cornwall, Andrea, 2003. "Whose Voices? Whose Choices? Reflections on Gender and Participatory Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 1325-1342, August.
    7. Nuggehalli, Roshni K. & Prokopy, Linda Stalker, 2009. "Motivating factors and facilitating conditions explaining women's participation in co-management of Sri Lankan forests," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 288-293, July.
    8. Frances Cleaver, 1998. "Incentives and informal institutions: Gender and the management of water," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 15(4), pages 347-360, December.
    9. T.J. Jitha, 2013. "Mediating Production, Re-powering Patriarchy: The Case of Micro Credit," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 20(2), pages 253-278, June.
    10. Andrea Rigon, 2014. "Building Local Governance: Participation and Elite Capture in Slum-upgrading in Kenya," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(2), pages 257-283, March.
    11. Nisha Velappan Nair & John S. Moolakkattu, 2014. "Women Component Plan at the Village Panchayat Level in Kerala: Does it Live Up to its Promise?," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 247-276, June.
    12. G. Harrison, 2001. "Peasants, the agrarian question and lenses of development," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 1(3), pages 187-203, July.
    13. Lv, Zhike & Yang, Rudai, 2018. "Does women’s participation in politics increase female labor participation? Evidence from panel data analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 35-38.
    14. Naidu, Sirisha C., 2011. "Gendered effects of work and participation in collective forest management," MPRA Paper 31091, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Buntaine, Mark T. & Daniels, Brigham & Devlin, Colleen, 2018. "Can information outreach increase participation in community-driven development? A field experiment near Bwindi National Park, Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 407-421.
    16. Sumi Krishna, 2001. "Introduction: Towards a 'Genderscape' of Community Rights in Natural Resource Management," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 8(2), pages 151-174, September.
    17. Margolies, Amy & Colantuoni, Elizabeth & Morgan, Rosemary & Gelli, Aulo & Caulfield, Laura, 2023. "The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    18. Frances Cleaver, 1999. "Paradoxes of participation: questioning participatory approaches to development," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 597-612.
    19. John‐Michael Davis & Yaakov Garb, 2019. "Participatory shaping of community futures in e‐waste processing hubs: Complexity, conflict and stewarded convergence in a Palestinian context," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(1), pages 67-89, January.
    20. Das, Priyam, 2014. "Women’s Participation in Community-Level Water Governance in Urban India: The Gap Between Motivation and Ability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 206-218.

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