Lucy Ferguson

This Compendium of Good Practices in Training for
Gender Equality brings together diverse practices from
several world regions. It offers in-depth information
on ten different good practices, including detailed
outlines of training courses; examples of dealing with
challenges that arise in training for gender equality;
and a collection of tools and activities for use in such
training initiatives. The objective is to make both an
empirical and analytical contribution to… Mostrar más

This Compendium of Good Practices in Training for
Gender Equality brings together diverse practices from
several world regions. It offers in-depth information
on ten different good practices, including detailed
outlines of training courses; examples of dealing with
challenges that arise in training for gender equality;
and a collection of tools and activities for use in such
training initiatives. The objective is to make both an
empirical and analytical contribution to the field, with
the overall aim of maximising the transformative
potential of training for gender equality. Mostrar menos

Drawing together analytical work on feminist knowledge transfer with experiences grounded in the practice of gender training and gender expertise, this book brings a primarily practice-based debate into the academic arena, aiming to further the transformation of gendered power relations in pursuit of more equal societies, workplaces, and policies.

This article conducts a critical analysis of the World Bank's current infrastructure strategy from a feminist perspective, arguing that failures to define gender and set meaningful targets and indicators have meant that gender has not been integrated into the implementation of infrastructure projects. It sets out three limitations to the Bank's approach to gender and infrastructure: lack of awareness of gender in the four sectors that comprise infrastructure; the Bank's narrow approach to… Mostrar más

This article conducts a critical analysis of the World Bank's current infrastructure strategy from a feminist perspective, arguing that failures to define gender and set meaningful targets and indicators have meant that gender has not been integrated into the implementation of infrastructure projects. It sets out three limitations to the Bank's approach to gender and infrastructure: lack of awareness of gender in the four sectors that comprise infrastructure; the Bank's narrow approach to gender equality and women's empowerment; and the failure of the Bank to mainstream gender in its current infrastructure strategy. Mostrar menos

Despite the rich and diverse tradition of research on the gender dimensions of tourism, such studies have had little impact on transforming unequal gendered power relations in the sector itself. In this paper, we are concerned with why this is the case and what steps might be taken to redress this situation. The paper argues that the challenges inherent in gender mainstreaming processes within public policies worldwide are replicated and – to some extent – exacerbated in the tourism sector. We… Mostrar más

Despite the rich and diverse tradition of research on the gender dimensions of tourism, such studies have had little impact on transforming unequal gendered power relations in the sector itself. In this paper, we are concerned with why this is the case and what steps might be taken to redress this situation. The paper argues that the challenges inherent in gender mainstreaming processes within public policies worldwide are replicated and – to some extent – exacerbated in the tourism sector. We contend that, despite its substantive insight into the sector, the impact of such literature has been minimal. We further suggest that this is, in part, due to the sustainable tourism paradigm's resistance to incorporating gender equality and gender analysis as core principles. In order to develop these arguments, we reflect on our experiences as specialist consultants in gender and sustainable tourism, drawing out some of the key tensions of integrating gender into sustainable tourism projects. In conclusion, we argue that there is substantive work to be done for gender to be integrated into the theory and practice of sustainable tourism, offering recommendations as to how this process might be improved. Mostrar menos

Despite the prevalence of gender experts in international development institutions, their impact in terms of transformative feminist politics remains questionable. Gender experts, and their profession more broadly, have been strongly criticized by a range of feminists working in academic contexts. In particular, some have argued that neoliberalism and feminism have converged, framing the role of gender experts as primarily to legitimate and embed neoliberal models of development. This article… Mostrar más

Despite the prevalence of gender experts in international development institutions, their impact in terms of transformative feminist politics remains questionable. Gender experts, and their profession more broadly, have been strongly criticized by a range of feminists working in academic contexts. In particular, some have argued that neoliberalism and feminism have converged, framing the role of gender experts as primarily to legitimate and embed neoliberal models of development. This article engages with these critiques from the perspective of the gender expert her/himself, drawing on first-hand experiences to tease out some of the tensions and complexities of this work. After setting out some general challenges for gender experts, I focus on one particular aspect of the current gender and development paradigm – the “business case” for gender equality – and explore how it feels to work within such a framework. In doing so, I aim to reflect on the possibilities of promoting transformative change whilst at the same time acknowledging and embracing the dilemmas and contradictions involved in the daily politics of working as a gender expert. Mostrar menos

In “Integrating Gender Into Sustainable Tourism Projects” the authors provide a critical reflection on their work as gender consultants for a long-term sustainable tourism project co-financed by the European Commission Investing in People programme and managed by a large Spanish public policy institution.

They detail their experience of producing a methodology for identifying good practices to promote women’s empowerment in vocational and educational training in sustainable tourism in… Mostrar más

In “Integrating Gender Into Sustainable Tourism Projects” the authors provide a critical reflection on their work as gender consultants for a long-term sustainable tourism project co-financed by the European Commission Investing in People programme and managed by a large Spanish public policy institution.

They detail their experience of producing a methodology for identifying good practices to promote women’s empowerment in vocational and educational training in sustainable tourism in five partner countries. The paper reveals the main challenges and frustrations and to what extent gender was integrated. Mostrar menos

This paper engages with recent debates on social reproduction in feminist political economy which have analysed issues such as migration and the global household, as well as attempts to conceptualise and account for the contribution of social reproduction to the global economy. It begins by constructing an approach to social reproduction based on three conceptual pillars: economic difference; alternative economies; and the centring of the household and social provisioning. Next, it analyses… Mostrar más

This paper engages with recent debates on social reproduction in feminist political economy which have analysed issues such as migration and the global household, as well as attempts to conceptualise and account for the contribution of social reproduction to the global economy. It begins by constructing an approach to social reproduction based on three conceptual pillars: economic difference; alternative economies; and the centring of the household and social provisioning. Next, it analyses current attempts to account for social reproduction in international institutions, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. This involves an overview of contemporary statistics from the UN, World Bank, ILO and OECD and an in-depth focus on the World Bank’s changing focus on social reproduction in the World Development Report 2012. The main body of the paper is dedicated to an analysis of the empirical focus of the paper – the relationship between tourism, gender and social reproduction. I begin by engaging with contemporary research and policy in this area, then go on to explore unpaid work in tourism enterprises using the lens of the ILO’s ‘contributing family worker’ category. I argue that this case study offers an opportunity to explore economic difference through the concept of overlapping economic activities in the household. The conclusions offer some broad reflections on how this might contribute to analyses of social reproduction in feminist political economy. Mostrar menos

May 2013

Women smallholder farmers produce the majority of the world’s food and yet lack access to the land, credit and the support they need to maintain themselves in this work. In fact, the majority of those who go hungry worldwide are women and girls. The reason for this is that, in general, agricultural policies and agricultural aid
– at the multilateral, bilateral and national levels – are neglecting women smallholder farmers and their rights. Building on lessons of what is already working for… Mostrar más

Women smallholder farmers produce the majority of the world’s food and yet lack access to the land, credit and the support they need to maintain themselves in this work. In fact, the majority of those who go hungry worldwide are women and girls. The reason for this is that, in general, agricultural policies and agricultural aid
– at the multilateral, bilateral and national levels – are neglecting women smallholder farmers and their rights. Building on lessons of what is already working for women must be a starting point for
addressing the stark gender gap in agriculture. This report shows the difference a fresh approach can make. And it offers four lessons on how starting from the needs and priorities of the women who do our farming is both practical as a process and delivers in terms of outcomes:
1. Farmers are women
2. Gender inequality is a challenge
3. Women’s rights make a difference
4. Women need to be supported to organise
Mostrar menos

One of the foundational aims of this journal is to enable articulations of globalisation other than those conceived of within a narrow, economistic modality. The articles that comprise this special issue, in our view, make a timely and innovative contribution to the plurality of analytical insights that have been published in this journal since its inception. Further, this issue represents the first issue of Globalizations that, in its entirety, takes seriously the claim that gender matters to… Mostrar más

One of the foundational aims of this journal is to enable articulations of globalisation other than those conceived of within a narrow, economistic modality. The articles that comprise this special issue, in our view, make a timely and innovative contribution to the plurality of analytical insights that have been published in this journal since its inception. Further, this issue represents the first issue of Globalizations that, in its entirety, takes seriously the claim that gender matters to global politics and therefore to globalisation. Ideas about gender are thoroughly bound up in the processes of integration, fragmentation, economic restructuring, and im/migration that characterise the sets of practices and politics described by the short-hand of 'globalisation', and in various ways the articles in this collection interrogate these practices to enrich our understanding of their particular and more general effects.
Mostrar menos

The relationship between tourism and development has been explored in tourism studies and in policy-making circles for several decades. However, very little research has been carried out into the gender dimensions of this relationship. Using the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG3) - gender equality and women's empowerment - as the focus, this paper explores this theme from a critical perspective informed by feminist approaches to development. It analyses the claim that tourism can… Mostrar más

The relationship between tourism and development has been explored in tourism studies and in policy-making circles for several decades. However, very little research has been carried out into the gender dimensions of this relationship. Using the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG3) - gender equality and women's empowerment - as the focus, this paper explores this theme from a critical perspective informed by feminist approaches to development. It analyses the claim that tourism can contribute to MDG3 by reviewing the research on the impact of tourism employment on gender relations and the tensions and complexities that this presents. The main body of this paper presents a critical overview of global gender and tourism policies, focusing on the World Tourism Organisation and the World Bank. It concludes by arguing that while tourism development may, in theory, contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment, a substantive reframing of policies is required in order to be able to maximise this potential. Mostrar menos

Much research in international political economy (IPE) has been criticised for focussing on large and powerful actors in post-industrial countries, to the neglect of sites, processes and actors in the global South. This article offers a corrective to this bias in two ways: by locating the analysis in two rural Central American communities; and by exploring the social relations of consumption in these communities. In doing this, I challenge assumptions about rural places being excluded from… Mostrar más

Much research in international political economy (IPE) has been criticised for focussing on large and powerful actors in post-industrial countries, to the neglect of sites, processes and actors in the global South. This article offers a corrective to this bias in two ways: by locating the analysis in two rural Central American communities; and by exploring the social relations of consumption in these communities. In doing this, I challenge assumptions about rural places being excluded from global processes and explore the complexities and contradictions of how such communities are inserted into global circuits of production and consumption. Drawing on extensive qualitative research, the article explores the ways in which capitalist development through tourism has reconstituted the political economy of consumption in terms of habits, attitudes and behaviour in these two communities. Using the community and the household as sites of analysis, I explore the complex ways in which inequalities have been reconfigured through changing relations of consumption. Certain kinds of social hierarchies, in particular traditional gendered power relations within the household, have been challenged. However, other inequalities - such as class, ethnicity and nationality - have been reinforced by these processes. Mostrar menos

This research speaks to two themes on which little empirical work has been carried out in IPE: tourism and social reproduction. It focuses on changing relations of social reproduction in two tourism communities in Central America - Placencia in Belize and Monteverde and Costa Rica. In contrast to the majority of literature on social reproduction, the starting point for this analysis is not the reprivatisation of social reproduction but rather an exploration of how actors in tourism communities… Mostrar más

This research speaks to two themes on which little empirical work has been carried out in IPE: tourism and social reproduction. It focuses on changing relations of social reproduction in two tourism communities in Central America - Placencia in Belize and Monteverde and Costa Rica. In contrast to the majority of literature on social reproduction, the starting point for this analysis is not the reprivatisation of social reproduction but rather an exploration of how actors in tourism communities in Central America negotiate the tensions between capitalist development and social reproduction in a context of minimal state provision. Drawing on extensive field research in these communities, I identify a gap in social reproduction generated by women's intensive and anti-social working conditions in the tourism industry combined with enduring attitudes that social reproduction remains the responsibility of women. The paper explores the responses to this gap, setting out two clear trends - the 'contracting out' of social reproduction and the construction of policies which aim to minimise the impact of tourism development on social reproduction. I argue that both of these responses represent privatised solutions to the social reproduction dilemma and urge continued support for progressive policy responses. Mostrar menos

International development institutions have adopted 'gender' as a fundamental component of any policy, programme or project. However, the meaning of this is often far from the original aims of feminists fighting for a commitment to more equal gendered power relations and social justice. This article offers a detailed study of one particular strand of development funding - tourism-based microenterprises - and outlines the ways in which 'gender' is constructed at three different levels: the World… Mostrar más

International development institutions have adopted 'gender' as a fundamental component of any policy, programme or project. However, the meaning of this is often far from the original aims of feminists fighting for a commitment to more equal gendered power relations and social justice. This article offers a detailed study of one particular strand of development funding - tourism-based microenterprises - and outlines the ways in which 'gender' is constructed at three different levels: the World Bank, the Honduran government and a tourism development project in Copaacuten. It supplements analysis of policy documents with the interpretations and perspectives of policy-makers and development workers to present a rich empirical picture of the complex and sometimes contradictory ways in which gender is understood at all stages of the development process. It then uses this analysis to demonstrate how these particular interpretations of 'gender' influenced the outcomes of the project and why it ultimately failed in its goals of integrating indigenous women into the process of tourism development. Mostrar menos