Women’s role in economic development: overcoming the constraints

Abstract

This chapter explores the challenges faced by women and the possibilities for improving economic development frameworks for this gender-specific group. It explains why women play an important role in bringing about economic development and what limits their engagement in income-generating activities. After providing a brief context of the evolution of thinking around women and development, from ‘Women in Development’ to ‘Gender and Development’, the chapter considers how and why women have been integrated into processes of ‘development’. It then presents evidence on the importance of women to economic development and highlights constraints on realising the full potential of women in the process of economic development. It also identifies priority areas of intervention for promoting gender equality that in turn will also help bring economic growth.