Development Discourse, Modernization Theory, and Gender: Impact of Modern Development Paradigms on Women

Wilson Chege

may 2013 · GRIN Verlag

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Scientific Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Sociology - Relationships and Family, , language: English, abstract: The contemporary world has experienced a focus on development as a core influence on social, economic, and political spheres. Equating the preoccupation with development to a discourse, Escobar (86-91) notes the interpretation of societal development as a technical problem requiring rational decisionmaking and management entrusted to a group of people. How such people conceptualize development has an impact on various groups in society. In this case, a male-dominated outlook on development poses various effects on women, explorable through exploring the various theoretical foundations on development (Lindio- MacGovern and Isidor 35). Several important theories conceptualized over the past half a century form the main ideas surrounding development, one of which is the modernization theory. Through taking the perspective of gendered development in which development affects men and women differently, the present study analyzes impacts of development based on the modernization theory and global capitalism on women. The study relies on scholarly works covering development, gendered development, modernization theory, and global capitalism. The approach to the discussion entails an overview of development and modernization theory with a focus on the first world-third world divide. This discussion of development frameworks then ushers in an analysis of how such development impacts women. The main theme under investigation is gendered development dwelling on the fate of women, with the central argument being that development and paradigmatic development theories create opportunities and hindrances for the development of women. [...]