HALF THE WORLD

HALF A CHANCE
An introduction to gender and development

Julia Cleves Mosse

Oxfam
© Oxfam 1993

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British

Library

Reprinted 1994

ISBN 085598 185 7

ISBN 0 85598 186 5 pbk

Published by Oxfam, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ

Designed by Oxfam Design Department 1139/PK/92
Printed by Alden Press, Oxford

This book converted to digital file in 2010

CONTENTS

Foreword V

Acknowledgements viii

1 What is gender? 1

2 Why development is a gender issue 9

3 Mothers and housewives? Gender, reproductive

and productive work 29
4 Upholding and challenging gender subordination 48
5 'A triple yoke of oppression': gender, class and caste
in a post-colonial world 85

6 Development at the crossroads 115

7 Reassessing the role of women 152

8 Some practical issues in development 176

9 Actors in social change 202

Notes and references 211

Index 224
For Arokiya Mary and for Michele
FOREWORD

In the words of a Brazilian woman: 'We are more than half the
world's population, and we are the mothers of the other half.'As
mothers and carers, as producers and farmers, the work of women
supports their families and communities. Yet, throughout the world,
the poorest people in the community are predominantly women and
their dependent children. Women, on the whole, often work for no
pay at all and, if they are paid, they usually earn far less than men.
Two-thirds of the illiterate people in the world are women. Women
face increasing levels of violence, because of their gender, and half a
million die each year as a direct or indirect result of pregnancy.
The dominant development approach, based on economic growth,
reduction of the role of the state and privatisation of public services,
far from improving women's lives, often makes them poorer, increas-
es their workloads, and reduces their status. The structural adjust-
ment measures imposed on indebted countries have particularly
affected women, with the removal of subsidies, the rise in prices of
basic foods, and the reduction of government services; and it is this
same model of economic development that has legitimised the
exploitation of women through the promotion of the sex tourism
industry. Yet women are often excluded at many levels from the deci-
sion-making processes which vitally affect their lives.
Oxfam's Gender and Development Unit commissioned this book to
explore the ways in which gender inequalities are constructed and the
impact of mainstream development on gender relations. The book
does not necessarily provide all the answers since gender issues are
complex and apply at local, national and international levels. There
are many ways of responding to gender needs and there had been
v i Half the world, half a chance

questions raised within Oxfam for many years on how best to work
with women. The setting up of the Gender and Development Unit
(GADU) in 1985 initiated a strategy to integrate gender into all aspects
of Oxfam's work and, in a broader context, to define the full implica-
tions of gender as a development issue. By redefining 'good' develop-
ment, and looking at it from the standpoint of poor women in the
South, Oxfam set out to revise its existing practices. The function of
GADU was to create a culture within the organisation which enabled
gender issues to become an integral part of the planning, monitoring
and evaluation of projects and programmes.
GADU's strategies include raising awareness of gender issues, pro-
viding specialist skills by training Oxfam staff both overseas and in
the UK, research, project and programme advice and the development
and implementation of a gender policy within the organisation. The
work of the Unit is furthered by gender specialist staff who work
directly with women at grassroots level, and support workshops and
other initiatives with our partner organisations in order to ensure that
women's voices are heard and Oxfam can be more responsive to their
needs.
Oxfam's partners in the South have played an important part in
this process. We have built up contacts and established a fruitful dia-
logue with women's organisations in the South. A recent initiative
combining many of these approaches has been a South-South linking
project involving partners from over ten countries aimed at strength-
ening women's networks and improving Oxfam's field programmes.
Besides its work in the context of the overseas programme, GADU
also plays its part in Oxfam's programme of educating and informing
the public in the UK and Ireland about the causes of poverty. GADU
produces reports, books and newsletters to exchange experiences and
increase understanding of gender and development issues. Half the
World, Haifa Chance is part of this wider purpose.
The book looks at the position and condition of women throughout
the world. It tries to explain how discrimination actually operates
within different societies, the reasons why women are disadvantaged
in so many ways, and why development initiatives have so often
failed to help women. It provides examples of Oxfam's work with
partners in the South who are committed to addressing women's
immediate and longer-term needs for cultural and social change.
Throughout the book, there are many illustrations of women working
together to overcome the obstacles they face. The message is clear: the
world can no longer afford to ignore the voices of women. If women
 Foreword vii

have the opportunity to be heard, consulted and involved in planning

and implementing development projects the impact and benefit of
development on women and the whole community will be greatly
enhanced.
If women come together to organise for change and are given the
space to use their strengths and talents, a transformation of gender
relations can take place enabling women to become equal and valued
members of society.

Eugenia Piza Lopez

Co-ordinator
Oxfam Gender and Development Unit
Vlll

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Oxfam's Gender and Development Unit for their
critical reading of the manuscript and the many helpful insights they
have provided. I would particularly like to acknowledge and thank
Eugenia Piza-Lopez for her clarity and perception throughout the
production of the manuscript. I would also like to thank all the other
members of Oxfam's staff in Oxford who took time to discuss the role
of gender in their work, and to make case-study material available to
me. Thanks, too, to Oxfam's staff in Bangalore, India, for all the
friendship and support extended to me at the outset of the project,
and to David, Jacob and Oliver for seeing it through to the last page.
Julia Cleves Mosse
Oxford
December 1992