IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

107

Research Frontiers on Gender and Development: Exploring Development, Work and Inequality from an Intersectionality Perspective

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC09 Social Transformations and Sociology of Development (host committee)

Language: English and Spanish

Session Type: Oral

The relationships among economic growth, gender, development, work and equality/inequality are crucial in gender and development research. It is important, however, to approach these issues with intersectionality in mind: Social class, race-ethnicity, disability, family structure and geographically linked traditional constraints vs. opportunities affect female vs. male life outcomes. Specifically, productive and reproductive labor and intersectional characteristics remain critical for understanding how and why gendered well-being and societal position change over time. Some scholars view work as a path to independence and recognition that can elevate women’s status vis-à-vis men. Others emphasize that the kind of work women do, under what conditions, and the rewards this labor secures are highly variable, reflecting intersectional inequalities. Another crucial factor is whether the work generates income under the woman’s control. If affirmative, she has greater equality; if not, she may be appreciated but not more equal. We invite contributions from scholars studying intersectionality, women’s work, gendered labor and equality, very broadly conceived. We welcome papers addressing questions, such as: How is women’s work, and its relationship to development, changing? To what extent do work, employment and income mitigate or exacerbate gender equality/inequality for different intersectional subgroups? Do these patterns vary within the Global South and/or across the North-South divide? How do institutions, e.g., the state and the labor market, plus regional factors shape the relationships among gender, work, inequality and development? How – and where – does women’s work and economic empowerment vs. disempowerment promote – or harm – development?