Title: A critical review of structural adjustment and increasing women's economic participation.

POPLINE Document Number: 120283

Author(s):

Wentholt W
Zoomers A
Jansen L

Source citation:

In: Advancing women's status: women and men together? Gender, society and development. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Royal Tropical Institute, 1995. :88-117. (Critical Reviews and Annotated Bibliographies Series)

Abstract:

Structural adjustment and stabilization programs, implemented after the worldwide economic crisis of the 1980s, have had a generally negative effect on women's role in economic development in the Third World. Recommended instead, for the poorer segments of the population, is a market-oriented strategy that improves access to employment opportunities and assets while raising the productivity of these assets. This article evaluates the results of projects in the agricultural and informal sectors aimed at promoting women's economic participation; an annotated bibliography is appended. In general, these projects have been hindered by failure to involve women at the beginning of the planning process and isolation of such projects from mainstream development activities and the broader macroeconomic environment. In the agricultural sector, attention should shift from developing employment opportunities or alternative income-generating activities for women to bringing more resources under the control of women to augment agricultural productivity. Also recommended are dissemination of information on mainstream agriculture, improved access to resources such as land and credit, increased productivity and marketing, child care provision, and enhanced water and fuel wood supply. A shift is essential from a women-in-development strategy focused on women's activities to a gender-and-development approach that strives for mainstreaming.

Keywords:

Developing Countries
Literature Review
Critique
Bibliography
Development Policy
Women's Status
Gender Issues
Women in Development
Economic Development
Agricultural Development
Informal Sector
Employment Status
Labor Force
Women
Policy
Socioeconomic Factors
Economic Factors
Rural Development
Macroeconomic Factors
Socioeconomic Status
Human Resources
Demographic Factors
Population