Development as if All People Mattered

Development as if All People Mattered Por el agua, por la vida (for water, for life)1

— slogan from the alternative Global Justice movement

Most of this book was written before the tragic events of 9/11/01, which changed the world in a way that reinforces many of the arguments made throughout these pages. In 1987,1 coauthored a book whose concluding chapter was titled “Development as if Women Mattered.” I could repeat the title for this chapter. However, that would fall short of my objectives. Con­ cerns about women do not exclude concerns about the whole society. Understanding gender divisions implies looking at both men and women from a feminist perspective and with a special emphasis on womens subor­ dination and the pursuit of gender equality. If anything, globalization and increasing world tensions have created an enormous challenge for women to think globally and to search for solutions affecting not only women but humankind. Along these lines, the main general arguments in this book can be summarized as follows.