Gender Roles: The GAD Approach

Gender Roles: Are learned behaviors in a given society/community, or other special group, that condition which activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as male and female. Gender roles are affected by age, class, race, ethnicity, religion and by the geographical, economic and political environment. Changes in gender roles often occur in response to changing economic, natural or political circumstances, including development efforts. Both men and women play multiple roles in society. The gender roles of women can be identified as reproductive, productive and community managing roles, while men’s are categorized as either productive or community politics. Men are able to focus on a particular productive role, and play their multiple …show more content…
Often women lack access to resources, have little or no decision-making power, and have secondary status to men. Without improving this situation, sustainable development is impossible.
NGOs can play an active role in increasing women' s access to resources and increasing women’s participation in the decision-making process. This is intended to harmonize the power relationships between men and women.
The GAD approach emphasizes the reduction of the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development.
Performing a “gender gap” analysis, that is, analyzing problems and processes from a gender perspective is an important skill for project planners and implementers.
Serotypes: Stereotypes are fixed ideas or assumptions about a group of people. Individuals belonging to that group are assumed to have the characteristics of that stereotype. Stereotypes can lead to false or unrealistic expectations about individuals who belong to a particular group of people. For example, a stereotype that men are more rational and logical can result in people finding it easier to vote for men in local