Women, Feminism and Development

For the past 20 years, feminist grass-root movements, professionals, and researchers have shown how the social construction of gender relations interacts with all forms of imperialism to mould the dominant ideologies of development. Based on a constant dialogue between theory and practice, research and action, their analyses of society and international development begin with women's experience and aim at policies and actions directed toward social change and the empowerment of women. "Women, Feminism and Development" illustrates the significance and relevance of work on development carried out from a feminist perspective, with a particular focus on the contribution of Canadian researchers and activists. Covering a wide range of themes and concerns, the volume gathers authors from different organizational backgrounds and academic disciplines, and includes chapters on such different cultural and geographical areas as China, Malaysia and Thailand, Mexico and the West Indies, Uganda, Malawi and Ghana, and Canadian Inuit and Indian communities. A unity of purpose as well as a call for a fundamental reconceptualization of society emerge from these varied voices. "Women, Feminism and Development" is structured to convey a feminist perspective for the construction of theoretical, methodological, and political approaches to development; a critical evaluation of the effect of development policies on women's lives and gender relations; and an understanding of the multiple strategies that can lead to the empowerment of women and real development.