240120 SE VM7 / VM3 - Gender, Culture and Development (2024S)

The seminar is a theoretically and empirically driven course that analyzes the relationship between gender and development by focusing on women’s experience in two arenas ; labor and migration. The course starts with a general debates surrounding the feminization of poverty, nexus between employment and empowerment, and feminization of migration. The conceptual and empirical discussions throughout the seminar will be anchored on two general questions; how do development related interventions and policies impact gender relations? In what ways do existing gender norms and gender inequality shape development trajectories targeting women?. By drawing on the Ethiopian case the course explores the roles, challenges, and opportunities faced by Ethiopian women in the labor force and migration processes. Through a combination of reflecting on theoretical /conceptual frameworks and empirical case discussions, students will analyze the various socio-economic, cultural, and policy dimensions that shape the experiences women in the workforce and as migrants within Ethiopia and beyond.

II. Learning Objectives

Understand key concepts and academic debates surrounding the nexus between women employment and empowerment.
Analyze the multitude of socio-economic and cultural factors influencing women's participation in the labor force in Ethiopia.
Examine the multifaceted factors accounting for migration of women and impact of migration on women, both within the country and internationally.
Examine the implications /impacts o of various policy approaches and interventions for women's economic empowerment.