IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ctwqxx/v36y2015i2p396-415.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From ‘gender equality and ‘women’s empowerment’ to global justice: reclaiming a transformative agenda for gender and development

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Cornwall
  • Althea-Maria Rivas

Abstract

The language of ‘gender equality’ and ‘women’s empowerment’ was mobilised by feminists in the 1980s and 1990s as a way of getting women’s rights onto the international development agenda. Their efforts can be declared a resounding success. The international development industry has fully embraced these terms. From international NGOs to donor governments to multilateral agencies the language of gender equality and women’s empowerment is a pervasive presence and takes pride of place among their major development priorities. And yet, this article argues, the fact that these terms have been eviscerated of conceptual and political bite compromises their use as the primary frame through which to demand rights and justice. Critically examining the trajectories of these terms in development, the article suggests that if the promise of the post-2015 agenda is to deliver on gender justice, new frames are needed, which can connect with and contribute to a broader movement for global justice.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Cornwall & Althea-Maria Rivas, 2015. "From ‘gender equality and ‘women’s empowerment’ to global justice: reclaiming a transformative agenda for gender and development," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 396-415, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:36:y:2015:i:2:p:396-415
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2015.1013341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01436597.2015.1013341
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01436597.2015.1013341?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anke Schwittay, 2019. "Designing Urban Women’s Safety: An Empirical Study of Inclusive Innovation Through a Gender Transformation Lens," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 836-854, September.
    2. Pieter Fourie & Colleen O’Manique, 2016. "‘It Sells, But It Does Not Fly’: An Early Assessment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 59(3), pages 274-279, December.
    3. Tanima, Farzana Aman & Brown, Judy & Wright, Jan & Mackie, Vera, 2023. "Taking critical dialogic accountability into the field: Engaging contestation around microfinance and women’s empowerment," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Regina Scheyvens & Heidi van der Watt, 2021. "Tourism, Empowerment and Sustainable Development: A New Framework for Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    5. Katie Tavenner & Todd A. Crane, 2022. "Hitting the target and missing the point? On the risks of measuring women’s empowerment in agricultural development," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 849-857, September.
    6. Li, Shengwen & Goerzen, Anthony, 2024. "Improving global value chain governance: Empowering women through third-party interventions within institutionally fragile contexts," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(3).
    7. Rai, Shirin M. & Brown, Benjamin D. & Ruwanpura, Kanchana N., 2019. "SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth – A gendered analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 368-380.
    8. Alda-Vidal, Cecilia & Khalid, Rihab & Foulds, Chris & Royston, Sarah & Greene, Mary, 2023. "Gender imaginaries in energy transitions: How professionals construct and envision gender equity in energy access in the Global South," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Tufan, Hale Ann & Mangheni, Margaret Najjingo & Boonabaana, Brenda & Asiimwe, Elizabeth & Jenkins, Devon & Garner, Elisabeth, 2021. "GREAT Expectations: building a model for applied gender training for crop improvement," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 338774, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Jeong, Joshua & Sullivan, Eileen F. & McCann, Juliet K., 2023. "Effectiveness of father-inclusive interventions on maternal, paternal, couples, and early child outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    11. Ida Arff Tarjem & Ola Tveitereid Westengen & Poul Wisborg & Katharina Glaab, 2023. "“Whose demand?” The co-construction of markets, demand and gender in development-oriented crop breeding," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 83-100, March.
    12. Elizabeth Mkandawire & Sheryl L. Hendriks & Lucy Mkandawire‐Vahlmu, 2018. "A gender assessment of Malawi's National Nutrition Policy and Strategic Plan 2007–2012," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(S2), pages 634-656, September.
    13. Funmi (Olufunmilola) Ojediran & Alistair Anderson, 2020. "Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Global South: Empowering and Emancipating?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, November.
    14. Buisson, Marie-Charlotte & Clement, Floriane & Leder, Stephanie, 2021. "Women's Empowerment and the Will to Change," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315352, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Antonella Mazzone, 2022. "Gender and Energy in International Development: Is There a Return of the ‘Feminization’ of Poverty Discourse?," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 65(1), pages 17-28, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:36:y:2015:i:2:p:396-415. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/ctwq .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.