ABSTRACT
Women and International Development (WID) encompasses a variety of disciplines and theoretical approaches, and addresses a range of topics in the diverse countries which make up the Third World. WID grew out of a shared concern for the disadvantaged position of Third World women, and the emerging understanding that the development process affects men and women differently. Recognition of the importance of women to the development process was more than a product of the failure of the “trickle down” approach. The redistributive perspective believes that women are disadvantaged not by “malfunctions” in the system but by the structural features of the global economic order. Women play multiple roles that place enormous demands on their time and energy. Redistributive “development” means the elimination of antagonistic gender, class, and racial relationships which create poverty, privilege, and inequality between and within nations. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
