4257 - Comparative and Emerging Paradigms of Gender Equality and Development: Can a “Hundred Flowers Bloom”?

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Description

Compared to the earlier paradigms of "gender and development" that regarded women as victims rather than as key actors in development, the newer paradigms--which are the theme of this session--focus on women’s agency. This session will present the work of two established gender and development scholars, Valentine Moghadam and Rae Blumberg, and two emerging scholars, Jennifer Keahey and Devparna Roy. The work of all four scholars has implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, revolved around social justice issues. Moghadam will survey the role of two international organizations in the implementation of the women’s rights agenda. She will compare and contrast the organizations' interpretations of “women/gender and development” and assess their efficacy in the region of the Middle East and North Africa. Blumberg will draw on her theories of gender stratification and gender and development, as well as recent fieldwork in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America, to elaborate on how women's economic empowerment versus disempowerment further affect development from the individual, family and community to national, regional and, potentially, planetary levels. Keahey will review theoretical contributions deriving from postcolonial feminism, decolonial feminism, and intersectional feminism to challenge dominant perspectives on the meaning of development. She will explain how a global understanding of intersectional colonialities is essential for improving ethics in development research and practice. Roy will analyze the convergences and challenges of ecofeminist approaches (including both Western notions of ecofeminism and postcolonial feminism) with those of various approaches to socioeconomic development. There are both overlaps and discrepancies in these four panelists’ approaches, but all contribute to a “feminist development” perspective. The paradigms explored in this panel concern the Global South but have considerable relevance for the United States and the rest of the Global North.

Sub Unit

• Special Session

Session Organizer

• Devparna Roy, Nazareth College of Rochester

Presider

• Devparna Roy, Nazareth College of Rochester

Individual Presentations

• International Organizations and Women’s Empowerment - Valentine M. Moghadam, Northeastern University

• Women's Economic Empowerment vs. Disempowerment: Impacting Gender Equality, Family Well-being and National Development - Rae Lesser Blumberg, University of Virginia

• Intersectional Colonialities of Feminist Development - Jennifer Keahey, Arizona State University

• Ecofeminism, Development and Social Justice: Convergences and Challenges - Devparna Roy, Nazareth College of Rochester