Gender and development - Janet Henshall Momsen

Global financial problems, rising food prices, climate change, international migration -increasingly by women-conflict situations in many poor countries, the spread of tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever and the increased incidence of HIV/AIDS and TB, and changing patterns of trade have all added new dimensions to gender issues in developing countries. These problems are frequently being brought to public attention in the media and through long-haul tourism. Consequently students' interest in gender and development has grown considerably in the last few years.

This updated second edition provides a concise, accessible introduction to Gender and Development issues in the developing world and in the transition countries of Eastern and Central Europe. The nine chapters include discussions on changes in theoretical approaches, gender complexities and the Millennium Development Goals; social and biological reproduction including differing attitudes to family planning by states and variation in education and access to housing; differences in health and violence at major life stages for women and men and natural disasters and gender roles in rural and urban areas. The penultimate chapter considers the impact of broad economic changes such as the globalization of trade and communications on gender differences in economic activity and the final chapter addresses international progress towards gender equality as measured by the global gender gap. The text is particularly strong on environmental aspects and the new edition builds on this to consider the effects of climate change and declining natural resources illustrated by a case study of changing gender roles in fishing in India. There is also enhanced coverage of topics such as global trade, sport as a development tool, masculinities, and sustainable agriculture. Maps, statistics, references and boxed case studies have been updated throughout and their coverage widened.

Gender and Development is the only broad based introduction to the topic written specifically for a student audience. It features student friendly items such as chapter learning objectives, discussion questions, annotated guides to further reading and websites. The text is enlivened throughout with examples and case studies drawn from the author's worldwide field research and consultancies with international development agencies over four decades and her experience of teaching the topic to undergraduates and postgraduates in many countries. It will be an essential text for a variety of courses on development, women's studies, sociology, anthropology and geography.

Janet Momsen recently retired from the University of California, Davis as Professor of Geography although she is still working with several postgraduate students there.She isnow affiliated with the University of Oxford as a Senior Research Associate in the School of the Environment and in International Gender Studies. She has taught at several universities in England, in Canada, Brazil, Costa Rica and in the USA andcarried out field research in the Caribbean, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Mexico, China, Bangladesh and Hungary.

"This is the most useful and comprehensive volume to have been published in the field of gender and development. The intellectual rigour combined with accessibility and engagement makes it a critical read for students, researchers, academics and policy makers. Indeed anyone who wishes to gain an in-depth yet wide ranging understanding of key contemporary global issues within the gender and development arena should read this book."

--Suzanne M Clisby, University of Hull, UK

"Gender and Development in an unrivalled introductory text which clearly outlines how and why women's and men's experiences of development processes vary over time and space. Janet Momsen draws together theoretical material, case studies and analyses of policy in a highly effective and accessible manner drawing on her considerable experience in the field."

-Katie Willis, Royal Holloway, UK

"To fully appreciate what gender and development is all about and to be abreast of the theoretical approaches and methods, read this book. Janet Momsen has fulfilled the need for a clear-sighted jargon-free text on the subject that is accessible by students as well as the practitioners involved with gender and development regardless of their discipline, organisation or profession."

-Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Fellow, College of Asia & the Pacific, The Australian National University, Australia

"...a timely and useful research and teaching tool"

-Sharon Ladenson, Michigan State University, USA