ABSTRACT
During the last decade, much of the discussion of women’s position in society has been centred around the relationship between women and development. Since the publication of Esther Boserup’s book (1970), which soon became a standard reference for studies about women, the attention of scholars and of the international community has been on the question of how development affects women. The answers have varied – from an early optimism about the beneficial effects of development in general, grounded in the terminology and the approach of ‘modernization’ theories, to pessimistic views about the ‘evil’ effects of the expansion of capitalism. Of course, no single answer, valid for the whole world and for all times, can be given.
