Abstract
Before the 1970s, women were practically invisible: they were relegated to the family and the domestic world. However since the middle of this same decade, the gender issue has become an increasingly theme within the development concern. Globalization not only affects men but women as well, although in a different way. The United Nation Decade for Women (1976-1985) turned the spotlight on women's lives and the discriminations they were victim to.
The "Women in Development" (WID) domain emerged as part of this new phenomenon, followed by other approaches. In a general way, gender issues are dealt with by feminists. Different trends can be distinguished within the feminist movement: some seek to deal with women's issues with development whereas others see development as damaging to women's agenda. Thus, feminists have been divided into four major trends: liberal feminists, cultural feminists, socialist feminists and black and Third World feminists.
Gender not only refers to women or men but to the socially defined roles of each sex. So gender and sex must be differentiated: sex is connected with biology whereas gender is seen as a social construction. According to Michael Kevane: "Gender refers to the constellation of rules and identities that prescribe and proscribe behavior for persons, in their social roles as men and women. These rules and identities may be deliberate or unintended, explicit or implicit, conscious or unconscious" .
It is important to emphasize that gender roles vary from region to region: women and men will play different roles in accordance with their tradition, their history and their culture. Furthermore, cultures evolve, which means that gender evolves too: "the roles played by men and women are not only determined by culture but by socio-political and economic factors" .
This essay will analyze the following assertion: "the gender difference in the ownership and control of property is the single most critical contributor to the gender gap in economic well-being, social status, and empowerment". First and foremost, I will examine the importance of gender issue as a development concern. Then, I will study women in the context of economic well-being, their social status and their empowerment. Afterwards, I will explain the gender gap in the ownership and control of property and why there is a "feminization of poverty". Finally, I will conclude with some critics of female assertion.
Tags: women empowerment, gender discrimination, ownership rights
