Exploring gendered change: concepts and trends in gender equality assessments

Abstract

More than a quarter century after the Beijing Platform for Action solidified the importance of gender equality in international development, it is timely to review the conceptual approaches used to assess the gendered impacts of interventions. This paper presents a systematic review of recent investigations of gender equality from development-related academic literature (2009–2019) using two analytical approaches. First, we visualise trends based on bibliographic, methodological, contextual and conceptual aspects (n = 150). Second, we explore the theoretical approaches used to conceptualise gendered change through co-citation analysis (n = 61). Our trend analysis shows a breadth of relevant disciplinary perspectives but limited geographic and content foci. Additionally, very few studies explore gender equality dynamics that involve men and boys. Our exploration of theoretical foundations identifies four conceptualisations of gendered change, each reflecting the divergent disciplines, actors and interests that operate in the gender and development space. These conceptualisations each rely on and expand the concept of empowerment. By critically reflecting on feminist principles, future studies can transcend narrower empowerment framings and contribute more meaningfully to the aim of gender transformative development.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2021.1911636 .

Keywords:

• Gender equality
• women’s empowerment
• systematic review
• distant reading
• co-citation analysis
• theoretical foundations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2022.2081399).

Notes

1 For more complex studies, the full article was analysed to ensure clarity of coding.

2 Authors who had at least five citations were included in the network diagram. For papers with multiple authors, each author was counted fractionally. Larger nodes indicate more citations, and thicker lines indicate closer connections.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by DFAT’s Water for Women Fund under Grant WRA-034.

Notes on contributors

Jess MacArthur

Jess MacArthur is a doctoral student at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, focussed on innovating ways to measure how women are impacted by water and sanitation programming in South and Southeast Asia. She specialises in the use of design thinking to impact programme strategy and market systems. Prior to this role, she was a Director of Programs at iDE in Bangladesh where she focussed on water, sanitation and hygiene; women’s empowerment; and nutrition. She trained as a chemical engineer and holds an MSc in water science, policy and development from the University of Oxford. She also has nine years of experience in WASH and education projects in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

Naomi Carrard

Naomi Carrard is Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, specialising in applied research to inform policy and practice in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), with a primary focus on the Asia and Pacific regions. She has qualifications in environmental law and geography, and 15 years’ experience working in WASH, water resource management and development effectiveness. Since joining ISF in 2006, Naomi has led and contributed to research in areas of WASH policy and programming, gender equality, civil society’s role in development, urban infrastructure and climate change adaptation. She focusses on work that integrates technical, environmental, economic and social aspects of development and resource management.

Juliet Willetts

Juliet Willetts leads applied research to improve development policy and practice and to address social justice and sustainable development, including the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals. She is a recognised expert in the field of water and sanitation in developing country contexts, and also works on issues related to gender equality, civil society’s role in development, governance and accountability, climate change, urban development, monitoring, evaluation and development effectiveness more broadly. In 2018 she was recognised as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence.