Gender and development: exploring the successes and limitations of gender mainstreaming as a strategy

Gender mainstreaming has been a fundamental in the Gender and Development discourse. This has necessitated simplifying concepts related to gender inequality which in turn has created unrealistic expectations as to the ways in which social change takes place. It has thus legitimized an approach of rolling out programs, getting a few “jobs for the girls” and making development cooperation ‘right’ for women as main instruments of change. The strategy, which was linked to dominant existing modernization paradigm of the 1960s and 1970s, was also only concerned with women-specific activities, where women were seen as passive recipients of development assistance like the provision of extension services, credit facilities and other income generation activities. There is still a long way to go before we have managed to significantly reduce inequalities between women and men globally. Equality between men and women constitutes an indicator of success in good governance. However women are not treated equally in governance institution and process. The gender issues become a core consideration not simply for specific departments or ministries dealing with women, but for all actors across a range of issue-areas and also at all stages in the policy process from conception and legislation to implementation and evaluation.