IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v200y2026ics0305750x25003663.html

DEVELOPMENT AS EQUALITY: A gender lens on progress and its hidden barriers

Author

Listed:
  • Agarwal, Bina

Abstract

Progress towards gender equality − economically, socially and politically − is a key measure of development, as well as a means of achieving it. This essay traces both the advances made (theoretical, empirical and in policy) in reducing gender inequality since the mid-1970s, when it was recognised internationally in development discourse, and the limits to that progress, given the persistence of gender inequality in most forms today. It is argued here that underlying visible measures of inequality, such as in women’s property ownership, labour market outcomes, and the governance of public institutions are hidden inequalities, embedded in biased social norms, social perceptions, and the social legitimacy of claims. Tackling these hidden barriers and their visible outcomes will require charting unconventional pathways, in particular shifting away from the dominant individualistic approaches to development to group approaches and collective action as necessary components for change.

Suggested Citation

  • Agarwal, Bina, 2026. "DEVELOPMENT AS EQUALITY: A gender lens on progress and its hidden barriers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:200:y:2026:i:c:s0305750x25003663
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X25003663
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107280?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    2. Claudia Olivetti & Jessica Pan & Barbara Petrongolo, 2024. "The Evolution of Gender in the Labor Market," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2433, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    3. Haddad, Lawrence & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & DEC, 1994. "Intrahousehold resource allocation : an overview," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1255, The World Bank.
    4. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    5. Nancy Folbre, 2024. "Care Provision and the Boundaries of Production," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 201-220, Winter.
    6. Agarwal, Bina, 1997. ""Bargaining" and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household," FCND Discussion Papers 42661, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Agarwal, Bina & Naik, Shruthi, 2024. "Do courts grant women their inheritance shares? An analysis of case law in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    8. Bina Agarwal & Pervesh Anthwal & Malvika Mahesh, 2021. "How Many and Which Women Own Land in India? Inter-gender and Intra-gender Gaps," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(11), pages 1807-1829, November.
    9. Olivetti, Claudia & Pan, Jessica & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "The evolution of gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    10. Standing, Guy, 1999. "Global Feminization Through Flexible Labor: A Theme Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 583-602, March.
    11. Yoon S. Hur & Jisun Jung & Jongho Kim, 2025. "Can microcredit benefit poor and women-headed households? Microcredit for an income-generation project in Vietnam," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 606-618, May.
    12. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    13. Agarwal, Bina, 2018. "Can group farms outperform individual family farms? Empirical insights from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 57-73.
    14. Lefeber, Louis, 1974. "On the paradigm for economic development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, January.
    15. Agarwal, Bina, 2001. "Participatory Exclusions, Community Forestry, and Gender: An Analysis for South Asia and a Conceptual Framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1623-1648, October.
    16. Bina Agarwal & Pradeep Panda, 2007. "Toward Freedom from Domestic Violence: The Neglected Obvious," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 359-388.
    17. Sue Ledwith & Janet Munakamwe, 2015. "Gender, union leadership and collective bargaining: Brazil and South Africa," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 411-429, September.
    18. Srilatha Batliwala, 2007. "Taking the power out of empowerment – an experiential account," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4-5), pages 557-565.
    19. Doss, Cheryl R., 1996. "Testing among models of intrahousehold resource allocation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1597-1609, October.
    20. Goldin, Claudia & Kerr, Sari Pekkala & Olivetti, Claudia, 2024. "The parental pay gap over the life cycle: Children, jobs, and labor supply," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    21. Caitlin Kieran & Kathryn Sproule & Cheryl Doss & Agnes Quisumbing & Sung Mi Kim, 2015. "Examining gender inequalities in land rights indicators in Asia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(S1), pages 119-138, November.
    22. van Rooyen, C. & Stewart, R. & de Wet, T., 2012. "The Impact of Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of the Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(11), pages 2249-2262.
    23. Kabeer, Naila, 2001. "Conflicts Over Credit: Re-Evaluating the Empowerment Potential of Loans to Women in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 63-84, January.
    24. Cheryl Doss & Chiara Kovarik & Amber Peterman & Agnes Quisumbing & Mara Bold, 2015. "Gender inequalities in ownership and control of land in Africa: myth and reality," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 403-434, May.
    25. Elizabeth Katz, 1997. "The Intra-Household Economics of Voice and Exit," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 25-46.
    26. Naila Kabeer, 1999. "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 435-464, July.
    27. Agarwal, Bina, 2013. "Gender and Green Governance: The Political Economy of Women's Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199683024.
    28. Bina Agarwal, 1997. "''Bargaining'' and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1-51.
    29. Agnes R. Quisumbing & John A. Maluccio, 2003. "Resources at Marriage and Intrahousehold Allocation: Evidence from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(3), pages 283-327, July.
    30. Deere, Carmen Diana & Leon, Magdalena, 2003. "The Gender Asset Gap: Land in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 925-947, June.
    31. Duncan Thomas, 1990. "Intra-Household Resource Allocation: An Inferential Approach," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4), pages 635-664.
    32. Canaan, Serena & Lassen, Anne Sophie & Rosenbaum, Philip & Steingrimsdottir, Herdis, 2022. "Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave: Evidence on the Economic Impact of Legislative Changes in High Income Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 15129, IZA Network @ LISER.
    33. Lo Bue, Maria C. & Le, Tu Thi Ngoc & Santos Silva, Manuel & Sen, Kunal, 2022. "Gender and vulnerable employment in the developing world: Evidence from global microdata," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Han, Wenjing & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zhang, Zhengfeng, 2019. "The role of land tenure security in promoting rural women’s empowerment: Empirical evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 280-289.
    2. Delprato, Marcos, 2023. "Children and adolescents educational gender gaps across the lifecourse in sub-Saharan Africa: On the role of mothers' lack of empowerment as a barrier for girls' educational performance," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Xu, Zeyu, 2007. "A survey on intra-household models and evidence," MPRA Paper 3763, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Sara Ratna Qanti & Alexandra Peralta & Di Zeng, 2022. "Social norms and perceptions drive women’s participation in agricultural decisions in West Java, Indonesia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 645-662, June.
    5. Agarwal, Bina & Naik, Shruthi, 2024. "Do courts grant women their inheritance shares? An analysis of case law in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    6. Arohi Anand & Animesh Karn & Avirup Mukherjee & Naboshree Bhattacharya, 2025. "Does earning money empower women? Evidence from India," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Yang Yang, 2023. "Hukou Identity and Economic Behaviours: A Social Identity Perspective," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph23-02 edited by Catherine Bros & Julie Lochard, April.
    8. Calasanti, Anna, 2025. "Asset, voice, leverage? Women’s property ownership and household decision-making in Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Holvoet, Nathalie, 2003. "Household matters: on the usefulness of an institutional approach for understanding intrahousehold allocation," IOB Discussion Papers 2003.03, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    10. Sayed Samer Ali Al-shami & R. M. Razali & Nurulizwa Rashid, 2018. "The Effect of Microcredit on Women Empowerment in Welfare and Decisions Making in Malaysia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 1073-1090, June.
    11. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Doss, Cheryl & Theis, Sophie, 2019. "Women's land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: Framework and review of available evidence," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 72-82.
    12. Malapit, Hazel Jean L., 2012. "Why do spouses hide income?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 584-593.
    13. Alexandra Peralta, 2022. "The role of men and women in agriculture and agricultural decisions in Vanuatu," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 59-80, January.
    14. Fernandez, Antonia & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2017. "Shared agency: The dominant spouse’s impact on education expenditure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 182-197.
    15. Shang, Wenli & Zhou, Ying & Tian, Xu, 2025. "Empowering women, enhancing diets: The impact of women’s bargaining power on dietary quality in urban China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    16. Malapit, Hazel J. & Sraboni, Esha & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ahmed, Akhter, 2015. "Gender empowerment gaps in agriculture and children’s well-being in Bangladesh," IFPRI discussion papers 1470, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Esha Sraboni & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2019. "Intrahousehold empowerment gaps in agriculture and children's well‐being in Bangladesh," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(2), pages 176-203, March.
    18. Guha-Khasnobis, Basudeb & James, K. S., 2010. "Urbanization and the South Asian Enigma: A Case Study of India," WIDER Working Paper Series 037, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Cheryl Doss, 2012. "Intrahousehold Bargaining and Resource Allocation in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 9145, The World Bank Group.
    20. Qanti, Sara Ratna & Peralta, Alexandra & Zeng, Di, 2021. "Social Norms and Perception on Women's Participation in Agricultural Decisions: The Case of West Java, Indonesia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314984, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:200:y:2026:i:c:s0305750x25003663. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.