WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT - A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In the early 1970s a general disenchantment with development efforts i n Third World countries led to a search for alternative development st rategies and a growing awareness that women, like the poor, were perip heral to the development efforts of major aid donors. In 1972 the Unit ed Nations designated 1975 as International Women's Year, highlighting the need to involve women in issues of economic development. During t he past 20 years the 'women in development' approach, which seeks to r ecognise and integrate women in aid policies and programmes, has been incorporated into the aid practice of most development agencies. This paper traces the efforts of large aid agencies over the past two decad es to integrate women into their aid programmes and discusses the main limitations and weaknesses of the WID approach.