MSc Management and Implementation of Development Projects / Course details

The aim of this module is to encourage critical examinations of the theoretical underpinnings of the gender and development subject domain, including its historical development, as well as practical policy management solutions/strategies at the organization, state and international levels. The relevance and significance of gender as a category of social and organizational analysis has been reaffirmed by The World Bank Report 2012 which focused on gender and specifically acknowledged that eradicating gender inequalities is a global concern for state governments, MNCs and organizations, in order to improve human wellbeing, good governance, economic growth and organization competiveness. The World Bank report also illustrated that ‘mainstreaming’ gender in development policy and management policy has not been realized in many countries.

This course helps to develop an understanding of the concepts of gender and gender inequality particularly as these complex issues apply in developing country contexts. This is done through the analysis of inequality in such factors as globalisation, education, organisational development, human development issues, and national development programming, and legal frameworks, as well as, for example, through the work of women’s empowerment groups. The enduring role of social norms in the persistence of gender inequalities is specifically explored, as is a how different socio-cultural contexts exhibit different social norms

• Provide students with a critical and foundational understanding of the theoretical perspectives and concepts that have underpinned the field of gender and public policy development, including WID, WAD, GAD approaches and critical men’s studies, masculinities and organizations.
• Enable students to understand the link between gender and key debates within development and HRD policy and practice such as: managing inequalities in organizations/societies, National Action Plans (NAP) and public management; managing ICTs, poverty, power, empowerment and social change, and the role of masculinities/femininities in gender, organizations and development.
• Enable students to develop analytical and evaluation skills in relation to gender planning and HRD policy at the organizational and national levels so as to enhance women’s/men’s knowledge, skills and capabilities in the global economy.
   

• The course unit should provide familiarity with key analytical debates in the field of gender and development.
• Students should be able to appreciate the intellectual origins of gender analysis and to explore contemporary debates in development theory, ICTS, social justice and rights, public management policy and practice.
• Draw on feminist and development research to critically analyse harmful social/gender norms and stereotypes and the roles they play at household, market and national levels in the perpetuation of gender inequality

• Students should be able to have a critical appreciation of gender, HRD, politics, governance and state institutions.
• Analyse gender and development initiatives and programmes aimed at change of harmful social practice that perpetuates gender inequalities.
• Identify hidden/grey mechanisms of inequality in large scale data, policy documents, and the public sphere.

• Students should be able to gain a critical appreciation of a range of approaches to managing gender policy in societies and organizations, including training and development, empowerment as well as the gendered nature of policy processes, and masculinities and femininities in development.
• Apply critical, analytical, gender-focused skills to the analysis of different community, national, regional, and global socio-political contexts.

Tailored feedback on both assignments via TurnItIn on Blackboard.

Evans, A. (2014) '‘Women Can Do What Men Can Do’: The Causes and Consequences of Growing Flexibility in Gender Divisions of Labour in Kitwe, Zambia', Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 40(5), pp.: 981-998.

Gammage, S., Kabeer, N. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Y. (2016) 'Voice and Agency: Where Are We Now?', Feminist Economics, Vol. 22(1), pp.: 1-29.

Harp, D., Loke, J., & Bachmann, I. (Eds.). (2018). Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research. Springer.

Lawson, D (2008) Gender and Poverty Analysis of the Ethiopian Household Data (1999-2005). Addis-Ababa: Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank.

Lawson, D (2020) Engendering Access to Justice for the Poorest and Most Vulnerable in Sub-Saharan Africa. in Gender, Poverty and Access to Justice: Policy Implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Routledge Studies in Development Economics, Routledge.

Marcus, R. (2018) The Norms Factor: Recent Research on Gender, Social Norms, and Women’s Economic Empowerment. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

Malhotra, A., Schuler,S. and Boender,C. (2002) ‘Measuring Women’s Empowerment as a Variable in International Development’, World Bank Gender and Development Group Background Paper,  World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Stamarski, C.S. & Son Hing, L.S. (2015) ‘Gender inequalities in the workplace: The effects of organizational structures, processes, practices, and decision makers’ sexism’, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 6/Article: 1400, pp.: 1-20.

Staritz, C. and Reis, J.G. (eds) (2013) Global Value Chains, Economic Upgrading, and Gender. World Bank International Trade Department Gender Development Unit.

UNDP (2020) Tackling Social Norms: A Game Changer for Gender Inequalities. 2020 Human Development Perspectives. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

Wamala C. (2012) Empowering women through ICTs. Publisher: Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions.