145.218 Development & Inequality .docx

145.218
Development & Inequality
Lesson
WEEK 8 (Parts I and II)
Nicole Ashley
School of People, Environment & Planning
Cadey Korson

2019
2 145.218 Study Guide Module 3 Gender
Acknowledgement
This course was originally written and taught by Regina
Scheyvens, and much of the material in the modules is
from her research. Since 2012 the course has been updated and
revised by Sharon McLennan.
THIS MATERIAL IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND
HAS BEEN COPIED BY AND SOLELY FOR THE
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES OF THE UNIVERSITY UNDER
LICENCE. YOU MAY NOT SELL, ALTER OR
FURTHER REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE ANY PART OF
THIS COURSE PACK/MATERIAL TO ANY OTHER
PERSON. WHERE PROVIDED TO YOU IN ELECTRONIC
FORMAT, YOU MAY ONLY PRINT FROM IT FOR
YOUR OWN PRIVATE STUDY AND RESEARCH. FAILURE
TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THIS
WARNING MAY EXPOSE YOU TO LEGAL ACTION FOR

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND/OR
DISCIPLINARY ACTION BY THE UNIVERSITY.
145.218 Study Guide Module 2 Gender 1
Contents
Figures
...............................................................................................
......................... 2
Readings
...............................................................................................
....................... 3
Week 9: Gender and Development
...................................................................................... 4
Learning Outcomes / Objectives
................................................................................. 4
Introduction to the Gender module
............................................................................. 4
The sex / gender distinction
........................................................................................ 5
Readings & Activities
...............................................................................................
.. 8
Warm Up Exercise
...............................................................................................
............ 8
Global sex ratio

...............................................................................................
................. 8
Gender and inequality
...............................................................................................
..... 10
Reading 18: Gender-Related Development.
................................................................... 11
Gender as a development issue
...................................................................................... 13
Reading 19: Gender and Development
.......................................................................... 14
Reading 20: Rethinking gender and empowerment
....................................................... 16
Why does the empowerment approach make some people
nervous? ............................ 17
Optional Activity (Video)
..............................................................................................
18
Summary
...............................................................................................
.................... 18
References
...............................................................................................
.................. 18
Week 10: Sexuality and Development ...............................
Error! Bookmark not defined.
Learning Outcomes / Objectives ............................... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Sexuality, gender and development .......................... Error!
LGBT, trans* and other non-binary identities .......... Error!
Readings / Activities ................................................. Error!

Warm Up Exercise .........................................................
Error! Bookmark not defined.
Reading 21: The trans revolution ................................... Error!
Third genders and inequality in the global south ........... Error!
Gender and sexuality as a development concern............ Error!
Reading 22: Sexuality and Development ....................... Error!
Summary ................................................................... Error!
References ................................................................. Error!
Week 11: Women and Work
..............................................................................................
20
............................................................................... 20
What Is The International Division Of Labour?
....................................................... 20
What does the use of third world women’s labour have to do
with NZ? ....................... 27
Warm Up Exercise
...............................................................................................
..... 28
Readings / Activities
...............................................................................................

.. 32
Comparison exercise
...............................................................................................
....... 35
The New International Division Of Labour And Associated
Problems For
Women:
...............................................................................................
...................... 35
Summary
...............................................................................................
.................... 38
References
...............................................................................................
.................. 39
Figures
Figure 1 Gender empowerment map
...............................................................................................
.................... 6
Figure 2 Global Sex Ratio, 2000-2008
...............................................................................................
.................... 9
Figure 3 GII process
...............................................................................................
.............................................. 10
Figure 4: GII map
...............................................................................................
.................................................. 11

Figure 5: Poverty and Sexuality diagram
............................................................... Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Figure 6: Employment in global clothing industries, 2005
.................................................................................. 21
Figure 7: Leading clothing exporters 2000 and 2007
.......................................................................................... 22
Figure 8: Hourly labour costs in the clothing industries, 2008
........................................................................... 22
Figure 9: Global production of passenger cars
...............................................................................................
.... 23
Figure 10: Changes in the relative importance of automobile
producing countries .......................................... 23
Figure 11: Export processing Zones in Developing Countries
............................................................................. 25
Readings
WEEK 8 (Part I)
Rubenstein, J. M. (2016). Gender-Related Development.
Contemporary Human Geography
(3rd ed. pp. 218-219). USA: Pearson Education.

Momsen, J. (2010). Introduction: Gender is a development
issue. In Gender and
Development. Routledge, London: 1-19.
Parpart, J. (2014). Rethinking gender and empowerment. In V.
Desai and R. B. Potter (eds.)
The Companion to Development Studies. Routledge, New York:
407-410.
WEEK 8 (Part II)
Gwyne, R. N. (2002). Export Processing and Free Trade Zones.
In V. Desai and R. B. Potter
(eds.) The Companion to Development Studies Arnold, London,
201-206.
Mills, M. B. (2003). Gender and Inequality in the Global
Labour Force. Annual Review of
Anthropology, 32: 41-62.
Chamberlain, S. (1996). ‘The female face of the proletariat’.
New Internationalist. July: 28-
30.
Optional Reading:
Ghosh, J. (2011). Financial crises and the impact on women: a
historical note. In Visvanathan, N.
(ed.) The Women, Gender and Development Reader. Zed
Books, Halifax

Gender and Development
At The End Of This Topic You Will
• realise how development has impacted negatively on many
women in the past.
• understand how different approaches to gender and
development impact on women’s
and men’s lives.
• be able to demonstrate why the empowerment of women
should be a crucial aspect of
development programmes.
The third module in this course looks at gender as a
development issue. Cast your mind back
to the introduction to this course, when I cited Friedmann’s
(1992) ideas on empowerment.
He argued quite forcefully that development should be about
enhancing the capacity of
marginalised or disempowered peoples to participate in and
benefit from society’s bounty.

We have already looked at people disadvantaged because of
their ethnicity and at class
inequality. For the next three topics we will look at people
disadvantaged because of their
gender.
Introduction to the Gender module
The third module in this course looks at
gender as a development issue. Inequalities
of gender are associated with the differential
status accorded to men and women,
opportunities open to men and women,
and the power and influence men and women
exert. In the photo on the left, which was
taken when Regina was in Tanzania in 2007
working with an NGO on
their gender programme, a male elder stood up
to speak out against a traditional practice of female genital
cutting - evidence that men can
work for the empowerment of women and girls too!
This is a great module with which to finish off the course,
because we can all relate
to gender issues! Think about how gender relations have
changed dramatically in NZ from
the previous generation - compare opportunities available to

girls and women today with
those of perhaps your mother or grandmother. More women are
now in paid work, but some
still face 'glass ceilings' in the workplace or struggle with
managing a double day (paid work
plus unpaid work in the home). While NZ men of today are
doing far more around the
house and with childcare than the previous generation, the latest
Census still shows that
women bear a heavier burden of unpaid work. Men are
disadvantaged in various ways as
well, however. For example, if any of you has been a 'stay at
home Dad' you will realise
there are far fewer support services available for you than for
'stay at home
Mums'. Similarly, our culture is not particularly supportive of
men choosing professions
involving secretarial work or early childhood education. Think
about how gender impacts
on your life - and remember, gender differences aren't the
problem, it's only gender
inequality that's an issue!
In this module you'll look first at 'Gender Sensitive
Development' (showing why
development workers need to be sensitive to gender issues),
then at 'Development and
Sexuality' (an major but under-recognised source of inequality
worldwide), and lastly at
'Women and Work' (including a specific discussion of the issue
of women working in global
factories - is globalisation empowering or disempowering for
these women?). As the
worldmapper map (Figure 1) on the next page indicates, gender
inequality is particularly a
problem of 'developing' nations, however there are some

anomalies here (can you spot
them?) and, as the optional activity later shows, it is still a
contentious issue in the 'west'.
The sex / gender distinction
Rather than focusing our attention on the biological differences
between men and women, a
gendered perspective focuses on the on ‘…socially acquired
notions of masculinity and
femininity by which women and men are identified’ (Momsen,
2010:2) and the cultural or
social characteristics associated with being male or female
(Greiner, 2014: 399). As Goetz
(1997: 6) notes:
"Gender" refers to the socially constructed and institutionalised
forms of
identity which are attached to biological sex differences, and
"gendering"
is the process producing these forms, through the granting or
withholding
of significant social, political and economic resources and
values (Goetz,
1992: 6).
Figure 1 Gender empowerment map

Thus most of the differences we observe between women and
men have little to do with sex
(biology); rather, they are based on gender, the social
construction of sexual differences. In
this way the traits which are seen as being desirable in men and
women may vary from
society to society. For example, girls may be brought up to be
complacent and demure,
while boys in the same society are expected to be assertive and
independent. These traits are
associated with gender roles, the social expectations,
responsibilities and rights that are
associated with masculinity and femininity (Greiner, 2014:184).
These roles can vary
significantly across different societies. For example, in India,
men do much of the sewing
and many women work on construction sites. This is different
from the situation in many
western countries. In nearly all cases where women are
designated a particular task,
however, it receives less of a reward (in terms of income and
status) than men would
receive. For example, while in New Zealand many occupational
stereotypes are being
broken down with, in the cases of medicine and veterinary
studies, equal numbers of men
and women in training, childcare is still predominantly seen as a
women’s job. For this they
receive either low wages or no pay. While we have seen a shift

towards greater involvement
of men in unpaid childcare, this has not yet become an
acceptable ‘norm,’ and stay-at-home
Dads may feel less supported by society than stay-at-home
Mums.
Instead of looking at women alone as if they existed in a
vacuum, a gendered approach to
development recognizes that men, women and gender-variant
people1 are all constrained by
the way society constructs ‘men’ and ‘women’, and that all
genders need to work to
transform their societies (Cornwall 2000).
1 Gender variance or gender non-conformity is a term used to
describe behaviours and
interests that fit outside of what we consider ‘normal’ for a
child or adult’s assigned
biological sex (Gender diversity, 2016).
Readings & Activities
Warm Up Exercise

Global sex ratio
Study the map on the following page (Figure 2).
For genetic and other reasons that no two authors can agree on
at this stage, it appears that
women generally live longer than men. Thus in countries where
the sex ratio shows that
there are significantly more males than females (areas shaded
black on this map), it is
generally agreed that there must be cultural conditions which
disadvantage women. Name 5
countries on the map where this is the case2.
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
I have listed one reason for this below; see if you can think of
others:

• abortion of female foetuses (preference for boys).
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
2 This may challenge your geographical knowledge as the
country names are not marked on
the map! Use Google maps or an atlas to identify the names of
countries you aren’t sure
about.
Figure 2 Global Sex Ratio, 2000-2008
So
ur

ce
:
M
om
se
n,
2
01
0:
2
1
Gender and inequality
While great strides have been made in understanding gender and
gender roles, women, girls
and gender variant people continue to face considerable
disadvantages in health, education,
employment and political representation, and gender-based
inequality remains a major
barrier to human development and to the development of
capabilities and freedom. Some of
these inequalities will be explored in the next three weekly
topics, but first it is worth having
a look at one method of measuring gender-based inequality, the

Gender Inequality Index
(GII). This index was introduced in the 2010 UN Human
Development Report and is built
on the same framework as the HDI. It measures gender
inequalities using three important
aspects of human development:
• reproductive health, measured by
o maternal mortality ratio
o adolescent birth rates
• empowerment, measured by
o proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females
o proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older
with at least
some secondary education
• economic status, measured using
o labour force participation rate of female and male populations
aged 15 years
and older..
The process of determining the GII is shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3 GII process

Source: UNDP (2015)
The GII uses the same 0 to 1 measurement scale as the Gini,
with 0 being 0% inequality,
(complete equality between women and men) and 1 being 100%
inequality (complete
inequality between women and men)3.
Reading 18: Gender-Related Development.
Required reading
Contemporary Human
Geography (3rd ed. pp. 218-219). USA: Pearson Education.
Study the map below (Figure 4, from Reading 18) and compare
with the HDI
map in Reading 1 (Greiner, 2014: 272). What do you notice
about the link
between gender, inequality and human development?
Figure 4: GII map

Source: Rubenstein (2016: 218)
3 This, as Rubenstein (2016, p.218) notes, is the opposite
interpretation to the HDI wherein 0
is completely undeveloped and 1 is very highly developed.
Reproductive Health
One of the indicators for reproductive health is the maternal
mortality ratio (the
number of women who die giving birth per 100000 births. Do
you know of any
woman who has died during pregnancy or childbirth in NZ?
Fortunately for
us, this is a relatively rare occurrence, but in a number of
countries this is an all
too common occurrence. Consider what could be done to
improve this
situation.
Did you consider grassroots initiatives (e.g. training for
traditional birth attendants) as well
as international strategies (e.g. debt relief, so governments have
more money for health)?

Empowerment
Empowerment is notoriously difficult to measure. The GII does
this by
measuring the proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by
females, and the
proportion of adult females with at least some secondary
education.
Consider what implications a relatively low rate of female
literacy (and numeracy) has for
women’s life options in these countries. I have listed two
implications of this below; see if
you can think of others:
• women lack the skills to deal with officials and fill in forms
(therefore they miss out on bank
loans and may sign documents which they do not understand).
• women cannot write prices on cards to advertise their fruit and
vegetables at the market and
they do not know the correct change to give customers
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________

•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
Using map 9.5.4 on page 219 of the Rubenstein reading, name 3
countries with very poor
representation of women in parliament:
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
Now name 3 Third World countries that do better than Western

Countries on this score (and
think about why this might be)
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
•
_____________________________________________________
_____________
Gender as a development issue
As your comparison between the GII and HDI maps should have
highlighted, there is a link
between gender inequalities and human development. Gender
has therefore become a key
focus for development agencies. However this was something
that many early development
practitioners were not aware of, or interested in. When debates
first arose about the need to
consider gender issues when devising development projects,
many development agencies,
donors and so forth argued that their projects did not
discriminate against women, rather,
they were ‘gender-neutral’. The problem with so-called gender-
neutral projects is that they
make assumptions about women which are often incorrect (see
the box below), and thus the
effects they have on women are unintentionally negative.
Take the example of a development agency which provides

employment for men on a cocoa
plantation several hours journey from home. They feel this will
benefit the community
because when the men return home once a month, they will be
able to afford to pay their
children’s school fees, buy medicines, etc. They also assume
that women, who, after all, are
not economically active, will be able to carry on with their own
work in addition to taking
up work which arises in their husband’s absence. In practice,
however, it is quite likely that
a number of the men who go to work on the plantation will find
themselves a new ‘wife’ in a
nearby village. Others may return home, but may prefer to
spend their wages on
consumables such as beer and a transistor radio. Meanwhile,
women’s workload has
doubled: they have to break in new land for crops as well as
planting, weeding around and
harvesting the crops, and they have to make repairs to their
homes and collect heavy
firewood, work which the men previously did.
Common assumptions which have been made about third world
women in the
past:
1. That all women live in families (many young women, in
particular, leave home in

search of work, e.g., as domestics, in the city).
2. That all families have male bread-winners (around one in five
households in the Third
World is headed by a woman).
3. That women do not contribute to their families through their
own paid employment
(some researchers have estimated that twice as many families
would live in poverty if it
were not for women’s economic contributions).
4. That the unpaid work of women in families is not related to
the reward structure of the
occupational order (the relevance of domestic work to the
labour force is often only
recognised in male-headed households without an adult female
which are forced to buy
domestic servants or do without; also, the undervaluing of
subsistence agriculture often
leads to women’s gardens being pushed further away from the
village, undermining the
nutritional status of the family and increasing women’s burden).
5. That there is an equal distribution of resources within
families (luxuries for males may

in fact take precedence over necessities for women and
children).
Source: Broom, D.H. (1987). Another Tribe: Gender and
Inequality. In C. Jennett and R.G.
Stewart (eds). Three Worlds of Inequality.
Reading 19: Gender and Development
Required reading
Reading 19: Momsen, J. (2010). Gender and Development.
Routledge,
London: 1-19.
Momsen explains how gender is a social construction. For
example, the roles
of men and women vary from one society to another. Give 2
examples either
from this article or your own experiences of how men’s and

women’s accepted
roles may vary (e.g. in India, Regina was surprised to find so
many men
operating sewing machines, while women made up a large
proportion of the
labourers on building sites).
1.
_____________________________________________________
__________________
2.
_____________________________________________________
__________________
You may also think of how gender roles have changed from the
time of your parent’s
generation. This shows us that culture is not static, it is
constantly evolving. This is a
positive thing, as it means that the political, economic and
social status of women, as you
have explored in the Rubenstein reading, can be improved!
Momsen shows how approaches to women’s development have
changed
considerably since the 1970s. Describe the following 3
approaches:
WID:
_____________________________________________________

__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
GAD:
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
The Empowerment Approach:
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________

_____________________________________________________
__________________
Has economic development always led to improvements in the
life of women?
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________

Reading 20: Rethinking gender and empowerment
Required reading
Parpart, J. (2014). Rethinking gender and empowerment. In V.
Desai and R. B.
Potter (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies.
Routledge, New York:
407-410.
What do the terms ‘power over’, ‘power to’ and ‘power within’
mean (p.408)?
What about power with (p409)? How is this different?
Power over:
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
Power to:

_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
Power within:
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
Power with:
_____________________________________________________

__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
Can empowerment be measured? What are some of the
challenges to measuring
empowerment (p.410)?
_____________________________________________________
_________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________
Why does the empowerment approach make some people
nervous?
Empowerment entails a challenge to existing structures of
society, which
is bound to make governments and donors alike nervous. It is

not simply
a larger piece of the cake that is demanded but '...a fundamental
transformation of society not only in the direction of non-
oppressive and
non-exploitative relationships between men and women; but
also among
classes, races and nations' (Lycklama à Nijeholt, 1991:155).
This approach ‘...leads, inevitably, to a fundamental re-
examination of
social structures and institutions and, ultimately, to the loss of
power of
entrenched elites, which will effect some women as well as
men.... [thus] it
demands a degree of commitment to structural change and
power shifts
that is unlikely to be found either in national or in international
agencies’
(Rathgeber, 1990:495).
Optional Activity (Video)
Osama
In what ways does this film portray the oppression of women
and girls
under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan?
How can women and men work together to improve their lives
in such a

situation?
Summary
Empowerment is a vital aspect of development for any group
that has been disadvantaged
and marginalised in society, whether because of their gender,
ethnicity or class.
The focus of development for women should not be to entrench
stereotypical ideas about
appropriate roles for women in society. It should be, instead, to
improve gender relations
and to enhance women’s control over their lives: for example,
control over their fertility, by
providing them with safe and effective reproductive strategies;
control over resources they
need for survival by securing legal tenure for them; and by
providing them with
opportunities to earn a fair income, which they control. There
is increasing recognition
through a Gender and Development (GAD) approach that
women and men need to work
together to achieve good change.
References
Cornwall, A. & Rivas, A. (2015) From ‘gender equality and
‘women’s empowerment’ to
global justice: reclaiming a transformative agenda for gender
and development. Third World

Quarterly 36(2): 396–415
Cornwall, A (2000) Missing men? Reflections on men,
masculinities and gender in GAD.
IDS Bulletin 31(2): 18-27.
Gender diversity (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.genderdiversity.org/resources/terminology/#
http://encore.massey.ac.nz/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1870162
http://www.genderdiversity.org/resources/terminology/
Goetz, A.M. (1997). Getting Institutions Right for Women.
Zed, London.
Greiner, A.L. (2014) Sexuality and Gender. In Visualizing
Human Geography. Wiley,
Hoboken NJ. 184-188
Kabeer, N. (1992). From Fertility Reduction to Reproductive
Choice: Gender Perspectives
on Family Planning. Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.
Lycklama a Nijeholt, G. (1992). Women and the Meaning of
Development: Approaches and
Consequences. Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.
Molyneux, M. (1985). Mobilization without emancipation?
Feminist Studies. 11 (2): 227-
254.

Momsen, J. (2010) Gender and Development (2nd ed.)
Routledge, London
Moser, C. O. (1989). Gender Planning in the Third World:
Meeting Practical and Strategic
Gender Needs. World Development, 17 (1): 1799- 1825.
Parpart, J. (2014) Rethinking gender and empowerment. In
Desai, V. & Potter, R. (eds) The
Companion to Development Studies (3rd Edition). Routledge,
London. 407-411
Rai, S. (2011) Gender and development: theoretical
perspectives. In Visvanathan, N. (ed.).
The Women, Gender and Development Reader. Halifax: Zed
Books Ltd. 28-37
Rathgeber, E.M. (1990). WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research
and Practice. Journal of
Developing Areas 24 (4): 489-502.
Rowlands, J. (1997). Questioning Empowerment: Working with
Women in Honduras.
Oxfam, Oxford.
Contemporary Human Geography
(3rd ed. pp. 218-219). USA: Pearson Education.
Scheyvens, R. (1995). A Quiet Revolution: Strategies for the
Empowerment and
Development of Rural Women in the Solomon Islands. PhD
thesis, Massey University, New
Zealand.
UNDP (2015). Gender Inequality Index (GII). Retrieved from

http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii
Women and Work
At The End Of This Topic You Will
• understand how the new IDOL impacts on the lives of many
Third World women
• know what an FTZ is and how employers justify women’s
lower pay in these zones
• be able to see how MNCs exploit the cultural positioning of
women in different
societies in order to get a cheap, disciplined labour force.
What Is The International Division Of Labour?
The internationalisation of capital
In the 1970s and 80s, businesses, faced with falling rates of
profit and neo-liberal pressures,
were forced to ‘automate, emigrate, or evaporate’; thus many
went international (Thrift,
1989:20). Global factories and newly industrialising countries

(NICs) became signs of
growth and development. In 1998, however, the ‘Asian crisis’
demonstrated that the so-
called economic miracle which brought growth to the economies
of Thailand, Malaysia and
other Asian countries, was somewhat flawed.
The internationalisation of capital refers to the export of
capitalist relations of production,
through direct investment by multinational corporations (MNCs)
which create subsidiaries
abroad, organised along capitalist lines. Think back to the
material covered in week 6 on
Crisis! The internationalisation of capital and the new
international division of labour is
closely tied to neoliberal processes.
The new international division of labour (IDOL)
This is a new world spatial division of labour which emerged
from:
• The breakdown of traditional economic and social structures
in many developing
countries, leading to a huge supply of cheap labour
• export-led strategies of Third World countries
• overseas investment by MNCs (by 1985, 65 million workers
were directly employed by

MNCs) in search of cheap labour
• the homogenisation of the production process which allowed
tasks to be carried out by
unskilled workers who required little training
• a fragmented production process which allowed spatial
separation of stages of
production
• transport and communications technology allowing production
processes to be carried
out at many new sites around the world without prohibitive
technical, organisational or
cost problems.
There were particular industries which suited this new
international division of labour, for
example, textiles and clothing, and automobiles (as illustrated
by figures 6-10).
Figure 5: Employment in global clothing industries, 2005
Source: Dicken (2011) p. 304

Figure 6: Leading clothing exporters 2000 and 2007
Source: Dicken (2011) p. 305
Figure 7: Hourly labour costs in the clothing industries, 2008
Source: Dicken (2011) pp. 309
Figure 8: Global production of passenger cars
Figure 9: Changes in the relative importance of automobile
producing countries

Which countries became new sites of production under the new
IDOL?
The new IDOL typically involved managerial and high
technology functions remaining in
western countries while labour-intensive production processes
went to Third World
countries which had the following attributes:
• political stability
• governments which welcome foreign investment and are
willing to provide tax
incentives and to establish vital services such as transport,
energy and
communications facilities so that modern industries can
function
• a low wage labour force (see Figure 8)
• lack of, or weak, trade unions
Setting up large factories in Third World countries was also
attractive because, as well as
avoiding large wage bills, it meant that MNCs could avoid extra
expenditure to meet safety
standards on funds such as the ACC in New Zealand, and high
taxes. The power of MNCs
which allows them to threaten to take their investment
elsewhere also often prevents Third
World governments from enforcing health and safety or labour

laws (Garnsey and Paukert,
1987).
Globalisation means that economic decisions which see more
factory work going to low-
wage Asian countries can directly affect our lives. Read the
excerpts from newspaper
articles overleaf concerning the loss of hundreds of jobs at
Bendon factories in New
Zealand, for example. Most of their employees were women.
In New Zealand’s case, they
may also say they are forced to locate overseas because of large
reductions in tariffs.
What are free trade zones (FTZs)?
So keen were some countries to attract such foreign investment
that they established FTZs.
In addition to providing infrastructure (such as transportation
and telecommunications) to
make investment viable, the governments provide tax incentives
and subsidised utilities for
the investing companies (Arregui and Baez, 1991). For
examples of where FTZs are
located, see Figure 11.
We need to consider, however, whether foreign direct
investment is always beneficial to
Third World countries.

Figure 10: Export processing Zones in Developing Countries
The new IDOL is a gender and development concern as a
disproportionate number of
workers in FTZs and global factories for industries such as
footwear, clothing production
and micro-electronics are women. They are particularly
vulnerable to exploitation, as will
be shown in this week’s readings.
What does the use of third world women’s labour have to do
with NZ?
In 1999, Bendon, the underwear label so proudly ‘New
Zealand’, started closing its
manufacturing plants here. The following excerpts from two
newspaper articles reveal the
reasons for Bendon’s decision to move manufacturing off-shore,
while also showing the

impact on local women who were employed in these factories.
Almost 350 Waikato Bendon factory workers are today
struggling in
accept they have lost their jobs. Bendon yesterday announced it
was
closing its Hamilton and Te Aroha factories after making
women’s
underwear in New Zealand for more than 50 years. It said it
could not
compete with overseas underwear makers. Bendon will now
make its
garments in Asia.
A total of 98 jobs will be lost in its Te Aroha factory next
month, along
with 13 at East Tamaki, near Auckland. A further 278 people –
245 at Te
Rapa and 33 at East Tamaki – will lose their jobs from the end
of March
unless the Te Rapa plant can be sold as a going concern…
Waitoa’s Bev McIntyre said many staff were distressed. ‘It was
very, very
sad in there. There were some upset women. People cried,
mostly the old
hands. Some of them have been there for 28 years’. National
Distribution Union textile and clothing secretary Judy
Attenberger said
job prospects for the women were slim. ‘Ninety-nine per cent
of them are
women. A lot of them are in their 40s and 50s, who won’t get
another job
in this town’.

(Scott, 1999:1).
Bendon’s move to shift business overseas has stirred up debate
about
government policy in the past 12 years.
Since 1987, clothing tariffs, which work as a tax on imports to
protect
local manufacturers, have fallen from 65 per cent to 17.5 per
cent. They
are due to fall further to 15 per cent by the middle of next
year…
Julie Attenberger, textile and clothing secretary of the National
Distribution Union, says Bendon has become extremely efficient
but it can
no longer compete with goods from overseas… Many of
Bendon’s main
export markets retained strong protection of their clothing
industries, she
says: ‘In light of this it must be acknowledged that it is lunacy
for New
Zealand to lead the world in the reduction of tariffs’.
(Morrison, 1999:8).
Warm Up Exercise

Now that you have learned a little about the new IDOL,
consider how it may impact
specifically on women’s lives. Read the quotes (on the next
pages) from factory managers
in Malaysia about women’s labour. Read also the short article
‘The Tragedy of Fast
Fashion’.
Now try to make a list of problems you anticipate women may
face under the new IDOL:
(Ong, 1987)

Readings / Activities
Required reading
Reading 22: Gwyne, R. N. (2002). Export Processing and Free
Trade Zones. In
V. Desai and R. B. Potter (eds.) The Companion to
Development Studies Arnold,
London, 201-206
What factors have led to the growth of EPZs (sometimes known
as FTZs),
which now exist in over 90 countries?

Explain what is meant by the ‘flying geese model’ of
manufacturing (p.202).
Are all EPZs characterized by low-skilled, labour-intensive
assembly plants
which manufacture clothing, footwear and basic electronics?
Required reading
Reading 23: Mills, M. B. (2003). Gender and Inequality in the
Global Labour
Force. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32: 41-62.
Mills (2003: 42) states that “Around the globe, gender
hierarchies are
produced and maintained in relation to transnational circuits of
labour

mobilization and capital accumulation’. Provide examples to
explain what she
means.
What strategies may be used to devalue women’s labour?
What are the particular risks faced by women who engage in
transnational
service labour (e.g. working as nannies in foreign countries)?
In what ways are women struggling to achieve better labour
rights?
Required reading
Reading 24: Chamberlain, S. (1996). ‘The female face of the
proletariat’. New
Internationalist. July: 28-30.

In what ways are the rights that maquilla managements violate
gender-specific?
How do MNCs in Central America capitalise on cultural traits
women in the
these societies are said to hold?
Comparison exercise
Compare the list of problems you anticipated women may face
under the new
IDOL (done as a warm up exercise) with the list below,
highlighting any you
missed out:
The New International Division Of Labour And Associated

Problems For Women:
• marked pay differentials between women and men.
• a sharp division of labour with men occupying most
management and supervisory
roles.
• static’ jobs that have no promotion potential.
• poor working conditions.
• inflexible skills; cannot be applied to work outside of the
global factory.
• lack of childcare facilities.
• unsuitable hours of work.
• lack of unionisation of industry.
• instability of work because of a ‘revolving door’ policy (with
employment policies
allowing for a high turnover of staff,which may be seen as
necessary when the work
is monotonous and mentally wasting and physically exhausting).
• sometimes forced sacking of pregnant women (or once women
marry to avoid
having to pay maternity benefits).

• health problems (e.g. women regularly using chemicals are
more prone to menstrual
complaints, pregnancy problems and infertility while those
using microscopes and
VDUs are more prone to eye complaints; mental health).
Features of female participation in the labour force which are
advantageous to capital
Refer back to all the readings for this topic and try to provide
examples of
the following features of female participation in the labour
force which are
advantageous to capital:
(Source: Gomez de Estrada and Reddock 1987; Standing 1992)
• Women’s relatively subordinated and repressed character
within certain cultures:
EXAMPLE:

• Women’s supposed adoption of ‘natural’ traits, including
acceptance of work
discipline, experience with monotonous work, and docile
nature:
EXAMPLE:
• Women are dispensable:
EXAMPLE:

• A preference for young, single women who may be more
vulnerable than other
groups (because they lack family obligations this also means
they are seen as
more adaptable in terms of working hours, overtime and shift
work):
EXAMPLE:
• the lack of need to pay a ‘family wage’; also, they are seen as
easy to lay off
because of a tradition of economic dependence on men which
results in them
seeing themselves as supplementary workers
EXAMPLE:

Many ‘...young women...in Asia, have been socially and
economically
oppressed for so long that they have low “aspiration
wages”...They are
prepared to work for low wages for long work weeks, normally
without
agitating to join unions, and when their productivity declines
after a few
years of youthful diligence they are replaced by new cohorts’
(Standing,
1992:351).
Optional reading
Ghosh, J. (2011). Financial crises and the impact on women: a
historical note.
In Visvanathan, N. (ed.) The Women, Gender and Development
Reader. Zed
Books, Halifax
This short reading brings together ideas covered in module 2,
topic 1 (crisis) with the gender
topics we have covered in this module. As we complete the
course you have hopefully

started to see how ethnic, class and gender inequalities
intersect. This reading shows clearly
the way in which the effects of the crisis have been
disproportionately distributed among the
population, with some groups – in this case women and girls in
precarious work situations –
particularly vulnerable to crises.
Summary
New labour regimes have had dramatic impacts on Third World
societies, which have been
seen as providing a cheap labour pool. They have impacted in
particular ways on women’s
lives, as women’s labour, for a number of reasons, is seen as
easier to exploit. Wages paid
are often lower than what men would be paid and women are
said to possess certain
‘cultural traits’, such as obedience and deference to authority,
which are said to make them
ideal employees: ‘… gender ideologies permit firms to portray
work related skills (which
would require greater renumeration) as ‘patience’ or
‘gentleness’ (which do not)’ (Collins
1993: 70).
Those most vulnerable within a society and those most easily
manipulated are those who are
most likely to be exploited under the new international division
of labour. Case studies
showed how employers in industry manipulated the employment
of women in specific ways
to avoid paying them an equitable wage and to circumvent their
gaining collective power.

FTZs epitomise the notion of free trade under the new IDOL.
But treatment of women
workers also epitomises problems for labour, and for women’s
labour in particular, under
systems whereby profits become the main goal of production.
While women’s roles as industrial workers have increased under
the new international
division of labour and many women appreciate the opportunity
to earn a regular income,
their rights and job security have weakened overall.
References
Arregui, M. and Baez, C. (1991). Free trade zones and women
workers. In T. Wallace and
C. March (eds.). Changing Perceptions: Writings on Gender
and Development. Oxfam,
Oxford, 31-38.
Collins, J. L. (1993). Gender, contracts and wage work:
Agricultural restructuring in
Brazil’s Sao Francisco valley. Development and Change 24:
53-82.
Dicken (2011). Global Shift (6th edition). Sage, London.

Garnsey, E. and Paukert, L. (1987). Industrial Change and
Women’s Employment: Trends
in the New International Division of Labour. International
Institute for Labour Studies,
Geneva, 1-10.
Gomez de Estrada, O. and Reddock, R. (1987). New trends in
the internationalisation of
production: Implications for female workers. In R. Boyd, R.
Cohen and P. Gutkind (eds).
International Labour and the Third World. Avebury, Aldershot,
137-59.
Greiner, A.L. (2014) Globalization. In Visualizing Human
Geography. Wiley, Hoboken NJ.:
36-40
Harris, M. (1994). Development II: The Privatization of
Everything? Progress in Human
Geography 18 (3): 371-84.
Lim, L. (2003). ‘Capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. The
dilemma of third-world
women workers in multinational factories. In C. R. McCann
and S. Kim (eds) Feminist
Theory Reader: Local and global Perspectives. Routledge,
London: 222-230.
Momsen, J. and Townsend, J. (1987). Geography of Gender in

the Third World. State
University of New York Press, 79-81.
Morrison, T. (1999). ‘Why Bendon is moving out’. The
Dominion
22 October: 8.
Ong, Aihwa (1987). Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist
Discipline: Factory Women in
Malaysia. State University of New York Press.
Scott, I. (1999). ‘’350 jobs lost at Bendon’. Waikato Times 21
October: 1.
Taylor, P. (1992). Understanding global inequalities.
Geography 77 (1):10-21.
Thrift, N. (1989). The geography of international economic
disorder. In R.J. Johnston and
P.J. Taylor (eds.) A World in Crisis: Geographical
Perspectives. Blackwell, London, 16-
78.
Standing, G (1992). Global feminization through flexible labor.
In C. Wilber and K.
Jameson (eds). The Political Economy of Development and
Underdevelopment. McGraw-
Hill, New York, 346-75.
Talcott, M. (2004) Gendered webs of development and
resistance: Women, children, and
flowers in Bogotá. Signs. 29(2): 465-489
FiguresReadingsLearning Outcomes / ObjectivesIntroduction to
the Gender moduleThe sex / gender distinctionReadings &
ActivitiesWarm Up ExerciseGender and inequalityReading 18:

Gender-Related Development.Gender as a development
issueReading 19: Gender and DevelopmentReading 20:
Rethinking gender and empowermentWhy does the
empowerment approach make some people nervous?Optional
Activity (Video)Required readingRequired readingRequired
readingSummaryReferencesWomen and WorkLearning
Outcomes / ObjectivesWhat Is The International Division Of
Labour?The internationalisation of capitalThe new international
division of labour (IDOL)Which countries became new sites of
production under the new IDOL?What are free trade zones
(FTZs)?What does the use of third world women’s labour have
to do with NZ?Warm Up ExerciseReadings /
ActivitiesComparison exerciseThe New International Division
Of Labour And Associated Problems For Women:Features of
female participation in the labour force which are advantageous
to capitalSummaryReferencesRequired readingRequired
readingRequired readingOptional reading
145.218
Development & Inequality
Lesson Week 3-5

Nicole Ashley
Cadey Korson
2019
Acknowledgement
This course was originally written and taught by Regina
Scheyvens, and she developed much of the course material.
Since 2012 the course has been updated and revised by Sharon
McLennan.

This material is protected by copyright and has been copied by
and solely for the educational purposes of the
University under licence. You may not sell, alter or further
reproduce or distribute any part of this course
pack/material to any other person. Where provided to you in
electronic format, you may only print from it for your
own private study and research. Failure to comply with the
terms of this warning may expose you to legal action for
copyright infringement and/or disciplinary action by the
University.
145.218 Study Guide Module 1 Ethnicity i
Contents
Readings:
...............................................................................................
................................................................... iii
Week 3: Race, Ethnicity and Development
...............................................................................................
.............. 1
Introduction............................................................................
................................................................................... 1

Learning Outcomes
...............................................................................................
.................................................... 2
Warm-up Exercise
...............................................................................................
...................................................... 3
Ethnic
Inequality................................................................................
........................................................................ 4
Why Are We Interested In Ethnicity In This Course?
........................................................................................... 4
Ethnicity and poverty
.................................................................................... ...........
............................................ 4
Definitions Of Social Groupings
...............................................................................................
............................. 6
Week 3: Readings and Activities
...............................................................................................
................................ 7
Race and
development............................................................................
............................................................. 7
Ethnodevelopment
...............................................................................................
.............................................. 10
Summary

...............................................................................................
.................................................................. 11
Week 3 References
...............................................................................................
................................................... 12
Week 4: Indigenous Peoples & ‘The Development Project’
.................................................................................. 13
Learning Outcomes
...............................................................................................
.................................................. 13
Who are indigenous peoples?
...............................................................................................
.................................. 13
Issues at the root of conflicts between indigenous peoples and
states .................................................................. 14
1. Definition, membership and legal status
...............................................................................................
... 14
2. Land, territory and resources
...............................................................................................
.................... 15
3. Economic Development
...............................................................................................
............................. 18
4. Language, education and culture
...............................................................................................
.............. 18

5. Indigenous law and social organisation
...............................................................................................
..... 19
6. Self-government, autonomy and self-determination
............................................................................... 1 9
...............................................................................................
.............................. 19
Optional Videos
...............................................................................................
................................................... 23
Summary
...............................................................................................
.................................................................. 24
Week 4 References
...............................................................................................
................................................... 25
Week 5: Ethnic Conflict and Separatist Movements
..............................................................................................
27
Learning Outcomes
...............................................................................................
.................................................. 27
Ethnicity & Conflict
...............................................................................................
................................................... 27

ii 145.218 Study Guide Module 1 Ethnicity
Separatism & Secession
...............................................................................................
...................................... 28
...............................................................................................
.............................. 31
Internal Colonialism
...............................................................................................
............................................ 33
Optional case study West Papua
...............................................................................................
............................. 37
Summary
...............................................................................................
.................................................................. 40
Week 5 References
...............................................................................................
................................................... 40
145.218 Study Guide Module 1 Ethnicity iii

Readings:
WEEK 3
Kothari, U. (2006). An agenda for thinking about ‘race’ in
development. Progress in
Development Studies 6(1): 9–23.
Willis, K. (2011). Ethnodevelopment. In Theories and Practices
of Development (2nd ed. pp. 133-
138) New York: Routledge.
Optional
Chernela, J. (2012). Indigenous Rights and Ethno-Development:
The Life of an Indigenous
Organization in the Rio Negro of Brazil. Tipití: Journal of the
Society for the Anthropology of
Lowland South America, 9:2
WEEK 4
Bodley, J. H. (2008). Progress and indigenous peoples. In
Victims of Progress (5th ed. pp. 15-36)
Lanham: AltaMira Press.
Briggs, J. (2005). The use of indigenous knowledge in
development. Progress in Development
Studies 5 (2): 99-114.
Optional
Poata-Smith (2013). Inequality and Māori. In Rashbrooke, M.
(ed.) Inequality: A New Zealand
Crisis (pp. 148-164). Wellington: Bridget Williams Books,
WEEK 6
Handelman, H. (2013). The politics of cultural pluralism and
ethnic conflict. In The Challenge of
Third World Development (7th ed. pp. 106-141). Upper Saddle

River, New Jersey: Pearson
Regan, A. (2013). Bougainville: Conflict Deferred? In R.
Jeffrey, E. Aspinall & A. Regan (eds.)
Diminishing conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: Why Some
Subside and Others Don’t (pp. 119-136)
New York: Routledge.
145.218 Study Guide Weeks 3-5 1
Week 3: Race, Ethnicity and Development
Introduction
This module examines inequalities associated with ethnicity,
where one group is disadvantaged
in comparison to another because of its ethnic characteristics.
I'm sure you have seen images
such as the ones below1 - perhaps even in your own or a friend's
travel photos. Although this
module focuses on indigenous peoples and on land, resources
and conflict, these images
remind us how pervasive and normalised ethnic inequalities are.
What do you think the
cumulative impact of these types of representation might be?
We will explore the impact of this type of imagery, and the

racialized discourses of
development in the first topic of this module, ‘Race, Ethnicity
and Development’. This topic
gives an outline of some of the terminology (what is the
difference between race, ethnicity,
1 Images from fashion magazines, posted on Sociological
Images.
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/09/04/privilege-and-
poverty-in-vogue-india/
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/07/05/more-on-
whiteness-in-fashion/
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/
2 145.218 Study Guide: Introductory Module
indigeneity etc), and explores the continuing legacy of
colonialism and the persistence of forms
of racial difference in development.
In the second topic of this module we look at 'Indigenous
Peoples and the Development
Project', and how in the past 'development' interventions sought
to modernise indigenous
peoples, and failed to recognise their land rights, value their
culture, or seek to empower them.
Thankfully, voices of indigenous peoples all around the world
have led to changes in the
practice of development.
The third topic in this module looks at 'Ethnic Conflict'. This is
a highly relevant topic in our

region. Timor Leste separated (finally) from Indonesia in and
became a sovereign state in 2002
after many years of oppression and conflict. They are still
struggling to rebuild their state. In
Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, a major conflict emerged
related to claims of
Bougainvilleans that they wished to separate from the state and
have their own country. You
can read more about this in the Study Guide. If you are
interested, the novel 'Mr Pip' by Lloyd
Jones will give additional insights into life during the conflict
for ordinary Papua New
Guineans (the movie version is one of the choices for the
second assignment). Also, please
watch the video in the supplimentary material, 'Blood and
Treasure', which will update you on
the Bougainvillean situation. Many of the current conflicts
going on in the world are not
between states (countries), but between ethnic groups or a
between a state and an ethnic group
which is not happy with their treatment by that state.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic you will:
• be able to define the terms indigenous peoples, tribal peoples,
ethnic groups, minorities,
nations, and states; and understand the roots and uses of the
term ‘race’ and how it
applies to development.

• understand the legacy of notions of ‘race’ in development
• be able to describe ethnodevelopment and how it can address
racial discrimination and
the remnants of colonialism, and enable ethnic groups to revive
their culture.
Warm-up Exercise
Think about what ethnicity means to you. What are your
experiences of it?
Regina’s experience:
The significance of ethnic identity and the potential for ethnic
conflict
to occur have become more obvious to me in recent years. As a
child
growing up I always told my friends that my mother was
‘Yugoslavian’. I always knew, however, that the language
which she
and her family spoke, Slovenian, was only spoken in the
northern part
of the country. Now I tell people that my mother is from
Slovenia.
Slovenia was the first state to successfully secede from the
former

Yugoslavia.
One reason why they seceded without the bloodshed
experienced in Bosnia/Herzegovina was
that Slovenia was made up predominantly of one ethnic group, a
group with a shared sense of
history, a shared language and a shared religion. There were no
significant ‘pockets’ of other
ethnic groups or religions who wished to question the split into
a separate state. This is quite a
different situation from that which exists in the other parts of
the former Yugoslavia. Those
over a certain age may recall the conflicts portrayed on our TV
screens in the late 1990s
showing opposition between the Kosovars and the Serbs and the
Muslim Bosnians and the
Serbs. Ethnic conflict will be discussed further in week 6.
Ethnic Inequality
Why Are We Interested In Ethnicity In This Course?
1. Because ethnic differences and the notion of race
underpinned colonialism, which in
turn has had a long-lasting impact on global inequalities and on
development.
2. Because development initiatives which fail to consider ethnic

groups have had poor
results in the past and have often involved worsening the life
conditions of minority
groups.
3. Because ethnic conflicts impact on the development potential
of the countries in which
they occur, and in those which receive refugees as a result.
Ethnicity and poverty
Throughout the world poverty falls especially heavily on
minority ethnic groups and
indigenous populations. The following excerpt from Todaro and
Smith (2015, p.255)
emphasises the global nature of ethnic inequality and poverty:
Some 40% of the world's nation-states have more than five
sizable ethnic populations,
one or more of which faces serious economic, political, and
social discrimination. In
recent years, domestic conflicts and even civil wars have arisen
out of ethnic groups'
perceptions that they are losing out in the competition for
limited resources and job
opportunities. The poverty problem is even more serious for
indigenous peoples, whose
numbers exceed 300 million in over 5,000 different groups in
more than 70 countries.

Although detailed data on the relative poverty of minority
ethnic and indigenous
peoples are difficult to obtain (for political reasons, few
countries wish to highlight
these problems), researchers have compiled data on the poverty
of indigenous people in
Latin America. The results clearly demonstrate that a majority
of indigenous groups
live in extreme poverty and that being indigenous greatly
increases the chances that an
individual will be illiterate, in poor health, and unemployed.
For example, the research
has shown that in Mexico, over 80% of the indigenous
population is poor, compared to
18% of the nonindigenous population…. similar situations exist
in countries such as
Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru (not to mention Native American
populations in the
United States and Canada). Moreover, a 2006 World Bank study
confirmed that all too
little progress had been made. Whether we speak of Tamils in
Sri Lanka, Karens in
Myanmar, Untouchables in India, or Tibetans in China, the
poverty plight of minorities
is as serious as that of indigenous peoples.
Todaro and Smith make a distinction here between indigenous
peoples and minority ethnic
groups. The next exercises explore the meaning of these, and
related terms.

Before exploring the definitions, what do you think are
important characteristics of
ethnic groups?
After you have listed your ideas (come on, no cheating now!),
consult the list below and ensure
that all of these ideas were covered:
• shared culture and history (although outside influences such as
state boundaries that
divide or religious conversion, for example, should be
considered);
• agreement on land boundaries which it has traditionally
occupied (there is usually oral
or written histories of ties to the area, sacred sites and customs
regulating access to land
and other resources;
• shared language (although some conflicting groups, like Hutus
and Tutsis, also share a
language); and

• a socio-political organisation which pre-dates the state and
remains separate from the
state.
Write down the names of three tribes/minorities/ethnic
groups/races and then note
which of the following categories you think they are best
described as:
• indigenous peoples
• tribal peoples
• ethnic groups
• minorities
• nations
• states
Your group Category
E.g. Māori indigenous peoples
1.
2.

3.
Now read the definitions (in the box below) and see if you were
correct in your judgements.
Make corrections if needed.
Definitions Of Social Groupings
Indigenous peoples
Culturally distinct groups that have occupied a region longer
than other immigrant
groups or colonists.
Tribal peoples
A distinct cultural group that retains a strong sense of identity
(with a separate language
and culture), a territorial base, and a self-contained socio-
political organisation that
predates the creation of contemporary states.
Ethnic groups
May be minorities or majorities. They are culturally distinct
groups within a state that
retain their cultural identity while accepting and operating
within the political,
institutional framework of the state. They can be immigrant
populations (Jews, overseas
Chinese, South Asians in Britain) or assimilated peoples who
have lost or abandoned
their political autonomy to become participants in larger states.
They have made an
accommodation within the state and they do not seek autonomy.
They accept the state’s

authority on political issues BUT they may reassert their
identity if states attempt to
destroy their cultural/religious/economic base.
Minorities
Any identifiable group which does not constitute a majority
within a state (may also be a
racial, tribal, ethnic or religious group). The term minorities is
often used to refer to
groups that do not have political power and therefore have
limited access to economic
opportunities and social services. Thus majority groups which
do not have access to
power may be thought of as minority groups (e.g. Indians in
Guatemala, Bolivia or Peru;
Hutu in Burundi). Minorities can, therefore, be either
numerical or sociological.
Nations
A group of people with a strong cultural and political identity
that is both self-defined
and acknowledged by others. They have exercised political
control in the past and still
have the institutions necessary to do this. State boundaries
rarely reflect the areas
traditionally occupied by nations (e.g. Kurds).
States
Commonly refers to a country, a political entity with clearly
recognised boundaries.

People within these boundaries are referred to by the name of
the country, for example,
Yugoslavs, even though in many countries people do not
identify with the state. For
example, in Indonesia certain groups would call themselves
Timorese or West Papuans,
rather than Indonesians. European colonisers created arbitrary
boundaries. People were
rarely consulted as to if they wished to belong to a state. Most
states are multinational.
When states refuse to acknowledge this, let alone to grant
political or economic power to
certain ethnic groups, the potential for ethnic conflict and
separatist movements is high.
Source: Clay, J.W. (1989)
Race and development
You might note that the term ‘race’ is not included in the list
above. There are some very good
reasons for this. Although often used interchangeably with
ethnicity, race is a highly disputed
term. It is the (mistaken) idea that “one or more genetic traits
can be used to identify distinct
and exclusive categories of people” (Greiner, 2014, p.164). It
has its roots in colonialism,
where physical and biological differences were used to explain
cultural differences, and to
justify classifying and ranking groups of the basis of those
differences (Norton & Walton-
Roberts, 2006, p.216). These days few, if any, scientists would
support the view that there is

any biological basis to the concept of race. Rather, we now
understand that race is a social
construction, which Greiner (2014, p.164) defines as “an idea or
phenomenon that does not
exist in nature but is created and given meaning by people”.
Although race is a socially constructed term, it still holds
considerable power, evident in the
way in which it is widely used (think of the current ethnic
tensions in the USA and how these
are described in the media). As Kothari argues in Reading 3, the
notion of race underpinned
colonialism, which in turn has had a long-lasting impact on
global inequalities and
development. It is therefore important that we explore the
legacy of colonialism and racial
discrimination in development.
Reading 5
development.
Progress in Development Studies 6(1): 9–23.
In this reading Kothari highlights the legacy of colonial
meanings of ‘race’ in development theory

and practice, noting that colonial rule was justified through a
racialized discourse that “positioned an
uncivilised other against a civilised white ‘self’” (p.11).
Nineteenth century scientific racism, which
suggested certain groups were biologically inferior, provided
further legitimacy to conquest and
exploitation, and the resulting hierarchical and exploitative
colonial system. Although ideas of
biological superiority disappeared in the mid-twentieth century,
Kathari argues that ideas of cultural
difference substituted in much the same form as earlier
arguments about ‘race’, and that these
inequalities persist in the development sphere.
On page 12, Kothari asks how have “colonial imageries and
narratives been recycled and
reformulated in contemporary discourses and practices of
development”? She suggests
this occurs through the use of binaries, the process of othering,
homogenisation, and
through the resulting discourse and representations of
development. What do these terms mean, and
how do they contribute to inequalities in development?
Add these to your glossary if they are new terms for you.
Binaries

othering
homogenisation
discourse and representations
Kothari argues that in development practice a key binary exists
between “those who
are thought to possess expertise and knowledge, and those to
whom it should be
imparted” (p.15), and she describes her experience as a non-

white development
consultant. She also highlights White’s (p.16) statement that
“my whiteness opened me doors,
jumped me queues, filled me plates and invited me to speak”.
Has your racial identity impacted
on your work life, travel experiences and opportunities? If so,
how?
Ethnodevelopment
Reading 6
of Development
(2nd ed. pp. 133-138) New York: Routledge.

The legacy of colonialism is undeniable and, as next week’s
discussion of indigenous peoples
will highlight, many ethnic groups continue to face considerable
barriers to development and
well-being. However this is increasingly recognised and is
being addressed in newer
approaches to development. This reading from Willis’ book
Theories and Practices of
Development highlights one such approach, ethno-development.
This approach recognises the
need to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, ethnocide
and the remnants of colonialism,
and aims to enable ethnic groups to revive their culture and to
resist further exploitation and
oppression (King, 2015, p.209).
How does ethnodevelopment address Kothari’s criticisms of
development? Reflect on
this in relation to Hettne’s four main aspects of
ethnodevelopment which Willis lists on
p. 134.

Optional reading
Chernela, J. (2012). Indigenous Rights and Ethno-Development:
The Life of an
Indigenous Organization in the Rio Negro of Brazil. Tipití:
Journal of the
Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America, 9:2
This (optional!) article provides some insights into the strengths
and challenges of ethno-
development. It describes an indigenous organization founded
after a successful campaign to
end the trafficking of indigenous Tukanoan women from the
Upper Rio Negro in Brazil, in
order to help women plan and manage their own development,
including cultural heritage
activities, institution building, revenue development, health and
legal services, community, and
other initiatives. It also provides a more in depth explanation of
ethno-development:
In 2002 Davis enumerated the fundamental principles of
indigenous development. He
held that ethno-development must be “culturally appropriate;” it
must be “based on

full consideration of the options preferred by the indigenous
peoples.” They should take
into account “local patterns of social organization, religious
beliefs and resource use;”
and it “should support production systems that are well adapted
to the needs and
environment of the indigenous peoples.” Mechanisms should be
included in such plans
for the “participation by indigenous peoples in decision making
throughout project
planning, implementation and evaluation,” and where
indigenous peoples have their
own representative organizations these should be used as
“channels for communicating
local preferences”
Summary
Ethnic inequality is the result of distinctions between ethnic
groups in a society, often the result
of perceived racial characteristics. Although there is no
biological basis to the notion of race,
the social construction of racial difference results in unequal
treatment and opportunities
between ethnic groups, particularly where some groups are
considered superior to others. This
is particularly problematic in development, which has roots in
European colonialism, and
where there continues to be a clear binary between development
practitioners and experts and
the recipients of development help – one which has strongly
racial undertones.
Recent development approaches such as ethno-development
seek to address this, ensuring the
control of development trajectories is returned to, and retained

by, ethnic groups. As the next
couple of topics will show, this is not without its own problems,
however it is vital that ethnic
and cultural diversity, self-determination, and mutual respect
are embedded in any
development endeavour if the devastating effects of ethnic
inequality and conflict are to be
avoided.
The importance of ethnic control of development processes, and
the critique of western, expert
(and yes, white) – led development leaves us with a conundrum.
What is the role of
international development agencies and organisations? What is
your role as an English-
speaking, western-educated individual? This course doesn’t
provide answers to these questions,
rather we hope that the remainder of the course materials and
readings will stimulate and
challenge your thinking about the ways in which you can
contribute to a better world.
Week 3 References
Clay, J.W. (1989). Epilogue: The Ethnic Future of Nations.
Third World Quarterly. 11:4,
223-33.
Greiner, A.L. (2014) Race and racism. In Visualizing Human

Geography (pp.164-167).
Danvers, MA: Wiley
King, E. (2015). International approaches to governing ethnic
diversity: Can development aid
be a tool in this toolkit?. In Boulden, J., & Kymlicka, W.
(Eds.). International Approaches to
Governing Ethnic Diversity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
development. Progress in
Development Studies 6(1): 9–23.
Norton, W. & Walton-Roberts, M. (2006). Power, identity,
global landscapes. In Cultural
Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, Inequalities
(pp. 213-245). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Todaro, M. & Smith, S. (2015). Ethnic minorities, indigenous
populations, and poverty. In
Economic Development (12th ed., p.255). Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Pearson Education
Ltd.
of Development (2nd ed. pp.
133-138) New York: Routledge.

Week 4: Indigenous Peoples &
‘The Development Project’
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic you will:
• realise why indigenous peoples have often responded
negatively to attempts at
‘development’ or ‘progress’.
• be able to provide examples of effective ways in which
indigenous peoples have
managed their resources.
• understand why social movements emerge and their value to
indigenous people.
• know what ‘alternative development options’ may constitute
and why they may provide
a more appropriate form of development for indigenous peoples
than conventional
development efforts.
Who are indigenous peoples?
There is no formal, universal definition for ‘indigenous
peoples’, although there have been
many attempts to define them. The most commonly accepted
definition, used by the United
Nations amongst others, is by Martínez Cobo (cited in United

Nations, 2009, p4):
Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which,
having a historical
continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that
developed on their
territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of
the societies now
prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at
present non-dominant
sectors of their societies and are determined to preserve,
develop and transmit to future
generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity,
as the basis of their
continued existance as peoples with their own cultural patterns,
social institutions and
legal system.
There are some limitations to this definition. In particular it is
focused on the original
inhabitants of the land and may exclude other marginalised
groups. However it marks a
significant change in the way in which indigenous people are
understood. Dominant groups
have often represented indigenous peoples in paternalistic or
evolutionary ways. Thus in 1957
the International Labour Organisation2 described indigenous
peoples in the following way:

Members of a tribal and semi-tribal population in independent
countries whose social and
economic conditions are at a less advanced stage than the stage
reached by other sections of
the national community.
While this definition makes a generalised statement about the
position of indigenous groups
within society (what do you think is meant by ‘less advanced’?)
and as such is no longer
considered appropriate, many indigenous groups continue to:
• Be on the bottom rungs of the socio-economic scale.
• Make up a large number of the unemployed.
• Be over-represented in menial occupations.
• Lack political power.
• Be less educated than most.
• Be in poorer health than most.
This week’s topic explores the inequality experienced by
indigenous peoples, first defining and
explaining the concept of indigeneity, the looking at concerns
related to land, economic
development, language, education and indigenous law and
society.
Issues at the root of conflicts between indigenous peoples and
states
From Stavenhagen (1990: Ch.8)

1. Definition, membership and legal status
Conflict can occur when the enjoyment of rights and privileges
(such as the right to vote or
hold a passport) or, conversely, the limitation of rights, is
linked to membership of a
particular ethnic group. For example, where preferential
employment is given to members
of a particular indigenous group.
2 http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?R104
2. Land, territory and resources
The land issue has become the principal claim of indigenous
peoples in recent times. This
issue has been at the forefront of conflicts between states and
indigenous peoples ever since
European expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries. The
European explorers considered
that the ‘newly discovered’ territories lacked owners or
inhabitants and thus they claimed
vast areas of land for themselves, their rationale being either
that this was their right as
discovers of the land or that they could make productive use of
‘idle’ land. For example
Burger (1987:2) quotes the governor of Roraima in Brazil who
was irate at protests about

the taking of Yanomami Indian lands:
An area as rich as this, with gold, diamonds and uranium,
cannot afford the luxury of
preserving half a dozen Indian tribes which are holding up
development.
Land is very important to indigenous peoples because it is
typically their source of
sustenance: of food, medicine and materials for shelter. It is
also the basis of cultural
identity, being home to ancestors, containing their history and
having spiritual significance.
Planners and government officials have ignored such
significance and therefore cannot
understand why monetary compensation cannot make up for loss
of the land.
Indigenous peoples often find it difficult to protect their land
because they do not have
legal tenure of the land, despite the fact that their occupation of
such land may predate its
declaration as forest reserve or crown land. The government
may even say that they are
illegally occupying the land. This allows the government to go
ahead with, or to grant
concessions to companies for, logging operations, mining
exploration, resettlement
programmes or dam construction. For example, most
governments claim that subsoil
resources belong to the state so indigenous peoples are
powerless to stop activities such as
mining. Because mining destroys landscapes, it can be seen by
indigenous peoples as a

physical assault on the land. It often destroys sacred sites. For
example, in Australia an
entire sacred mountain was mined and shipped out in the form
of iron ore without any
consultation with its Aboriginal owners. Displacement can have
devastating effects on
indigenous communities. At stake is an entire cultural heritage
which is often closely
intertwined with a unique environment.
Another form of invasion of land occurs when indigenous
people occupy border lands
which are considered strategic, or sensitive areas. In these
cases, the military will often set
up bases among people who have lived in the area peacefully
for generations.
What Does Land Mean To Indigenous Peoples?
(From Burger, 1987:13-16)
• contains their history and sense of identity
• ensures their viability as an independent people
• provides a means for their sustenance (food, medicine,
building materials)

• sacred quality
The Earth is the foundation of Indigenous Peoples. It is the seat
of spirituality, the
foundation from which our cultures and languages flourish. The
Earth is our
historian, the keeper of events and the bones of our forefathers.
Earth provides us
food, medicine, shelter and clothing. It is the source of our
independence; it is our
Mother. We do not dominate Her: we must harmonize with Her.
Next to shooting
Indigenous Peoples, the surest way to kill us is to separate us
from our part of the
Earth.
(World Council of Indigenous Peoples, quoted in Stavenhagen,
1990:101).
Western perceptions of land
• land that is not owned by title deed is regarded as unclaimed
and is seized
• natural resources left untouched by indigenous peoples are
considered to be
wasted
• economic activities which do not extract the greatest
commercial benefit
(e.g. growing foodstuffs rather than cash crops such as coffee)
are judged as

inefficient and primitive.
Because of the material greed of Westerners, and their scathing
attitude towards
activities which do not extract the maximum gain from the land,
indigenous people
across the world are struggling to protect their land.
3. Economic Development
Once again, because they occupy the last large, unexploited
tracts of land on the planet,
indigenous people have been increasingly subject to the effects
of economic
development projects such as dams, mines and forestry. These
projects, designed to
benefit the local elites or city dwellers, often result in
displacement of local peoples,
desecration of sacred sites, disruption of social systems and
destruction of habitats.

4. Language, education and culture
Language identifies many indigenous groups of people-groups
use language to express
their identity. However in the process of colonisation, the
languages of indigenous
people were downplayed, being said to be ‘dialects’. A
dominant group can thus
impose its language on subordinate groups. Government
policies have been designed to
help the languages of minorities to disappear; they do not
receive legal recognition, they
are not taught in schools, they cannot be used in official
dealings, and those who speak
only these languages are seen as being primitive. Because
women have less
opportunities to learn the new language of the dominant group,
they become
marginalised.
Perhaps the worst cumulative effect of such treatment is to
make indigenous people
ashamed of their own language, which essentially means to be
ashamed of their
identity.
Complaints have been made about:
• the denigration of tribal cultures for tourism purposes, with
complete disregard for
authenticity

• the violation of sacred sites with, for example, stolen artefacts
ending up in
museums and private collections around the world
• lack of respect for traditional dress or names (e.g. in 1988 a
Brazilian judge said he
would not deal with Indians who were dressed in ethnic attire;
they replied to the
judge that they would not deal with him either unless he were
dressed in ethnic
attire too)
Because of this language rights have become an important issue
among indigenous
groups in recent times. They will often demand that teaching at
schools takes place in
their own language, or for the development of schools which
teach in indigenous
languages – the kohunga reo movement is one such example.
5. Indigenous law and social organisation
The maintenance of traditional laws, customs and political
structures enables
indigenous peoples to retain their identity in the face of assaults
by outsiders.

Most national legal systems do not, however, recognise
indigenous legal and political
institutions, claiming there must be one law for all of the
people. Human rights
activists, on the other hand, argue that equality before one law
does not exist for
indigenous peoples and that one of the best ways in which they
can defend their human
rights is by using their own institutions.
6. Self-government, autonomy and self-determination
Most governments have been reluctant to grant any form of
political autonomy to
indigenous peoples. It has even been a struggle for indigenous
peoples to get
governments to honour the treaties which were signed during
colonial times.
Because of a long history of exploitation and denial of rights,
many indigenous peoples
are now becoming increasingly resistant to outside
manipulation. They have demanded
new kinds of policies of their states: policies which have
demanded self-reliance and
autonomy for indigenous peoples.
Conflicts between the state and indigenous peoples are often a
case of a clash of two
unequal societies: one is politically and economically powerful,
is tied into the world

economy, while the other is marginal to international scheming,
has a self-reliant
economy with simple technology and low levels of production,
and political
organisations do not extend much beyond the community. The
weakest is the loser
(Burger, 1987:3).
Consider the situation of indigenous people you are familiar
with. You may like to
look at the Maori of New Zealand. How has the group you are
looking at been
marginalised, politically, economically, socially and culturally?
Reading 7

Reading 5: Bodley, J. H. (2008). Progress and indigenous
peoples. In Victims of
Progress (5th ed. pp. 15-36) Lanham: AltaMira Press.
Describe the genocide faced by inhabitants of the Chittagong
Hill Tracts in
Bangladesh.
Define Ethnocentrism.
Provide examples of how ‘ethnocentrism’ can threaten the well-
being of
indigenous people.
Why is western-style ‘progress’ not necessarily desired by tribal
peoples?

Optional reading
Poata-Smith (2013) Inequality and Māori. In Rashbrooke, M.
Inequality: A New
Zealand Crisis. Bridget Williams Books
While this reading is not compulsory, it is highly recommended,
bringing together many of the
ideas and concerns we have discussed so far in this course. As
you read it, think about the
impact 'progress' has had on Māori communities over the past
two centuries, and consider the
solutions offered by NZ governments (previous and current). Do
you think current policy and
practise will lead to greater equality? If not, what do you think
could work?
Reading 8
Reading 6: Briggs, J. (2005). The use of indigenous knowledge
in development.
Progress in Development Studies 5(2): 99-114.
What factors have led to renewed interest in the place of
indigenous knowledge
in development?

Provide examples of useful indigenous knowledge relating to
farming (pp.
101-102, p. 105).
Briggs suggests that indigenous knowledge and western
scientific knowledge
systems need not be seen as polar opposites, or binaries. How
can community
development benefit from drawing on both systems of
knowledge?
Optional Videos
One of the most shocking examples of ethnic inequality and
indigenous
peoples is very close to home. The treatment of the Aboriginal
people of
Australia has been shocking, and it continues to be problematic.
The optional
videos here will help give you an insight into the injustice faced
by the

indigenous peoples of Australia, and the reasons why decreasing
inequality is so important yet
such a challenge.
Utopia
In this recent documentary, award-winning Australian journalist
John Pilger
draws on his long association with Aboriginal people to present
an "epic
portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture, and an
investigation into a
suppressed colonial past and rapacious present". Pilger explores
the injustices
faced by the indigenous peoples of Utopia, a region of northern
Australia,
Examples of strategies that can sustain the development of
indigenous peoples and their
environments
• Governments can establish processes for monitoring
environmental destruction
in areas where local people rely on the environment; they can
legislate to restrict
potentially damaging activities, e.g. restricting logging
companies to removing
10% of the logs in an area.
• Local protests (blocking roads used by logging companies;

petitioning
government).
• International protests (trade boycotts; political pressure).
• Establishing protected areas (national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries).
• Finding alternative ways of making money from the natural
resource base (e.g.
butterfly farming; exporting resins and gums; walkabout
sawmills; rattan; edible
nuts; plants with pharmaceutical applications).
• Nature tourism.
• Theatre groups which increase awareness of development
issues can encourage
local people to initiate their own strategies to protect the
environment.
alerting viewers to a "very modern, very current apartheid-like
situation – one that is taking
place in one of the richest and most developed countries of the
21st century" (The London Film
Review3). For a range of commentaries on this hard-hitting
documentary see this Sydney

Morning Herald article4.
Rabbit proof fence
Alternatively, watch the film ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence. This 2003
movie portrays
the racist imperialism that characterized the treatment of
Aborigines by
successive white governments. As recently as 1970, the
practice of removing
half-caste children from their parents and then re-educating
them in the ways
of white society was commonplace in Australia. Many of the
policy makers
behind this process saw that they were doing good by
‘enlightening’ the
Aborigines and improving their health and educational
opportunities, when in
reality they were hoping for the eventual demise of Aboriginal
culture. Set in 1931, ‘Rabbit-
Proof Fence’ tells the story of three brave young Aborigine girls
as they seek to find their way
home across 1500 miles of desert after being taken away from
their families to a government-
run ‘training camp’.
Summary
Indigenous people are often marginalised communities within
Third World countries, both
ethnically, economically and politically. They are often
geographically marginal too,
occupying highland, forested areas or barren, desert
environments.

It is important, however, not to romanticise the plight of
indigenous peoples, as some do when
they suggest that indigenous societies were without fault or
problem before contacted, or when
they suggest that indigenous peoples would wish to return
entirely to the ways of the past.
Contact situations typically lead to indigenous groups wishing
to add dimensions of the contact
culture to their lives, and perhaps discarding some of their old
practices. Meanwhile, there will
be important aspects of their culture and heritage which they
wish to retain.
As an example, Melanesian peoples are often said to live in a
state of ‘subsistence affluence’.
While they typically own few material possessions and earn
little income, the strong
subsistence base to the economy (including fishing, agriculture
and hunting) means that few
people go hungry. In recent times, however, Melanesian
peoples have been keen to earn some
3 http://www.thelondonfilmreview.com/film-review/review-
utopia-pilger-2013/
4 http://www.smh.com.au/national/with-utopia-john-pilger-
wrings-the-heart-but-objectivity-is-not-his-forte-20140208-
328wr.html
http://www.thelondonfilmreview.com/film-review/review-
utopia-pilger-2013/
http://www.smh.com.au/national/with-utopia-john-pilger-
wrings-the-heart-but-objectivity-is-not-his-forte-20140208-
328wr.html

145.218 Development & Inequality .docx

145.218 Development & Inequality .docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 145.218 Development & Inequality .docx

Similar to 145.218 Development & Inequality .docx (20)

More from ShiraPrater50

More from ShiraPrater50 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

145.218 Development & Inequality .docx