The Feminization of Development Processes in Africa - by James Etim & Valentine James (Hardcover)

About the Book

Women have historically provided vision and leadership to African countries and are now being recognized as pivotal to the overall sustainable development of Africa. In many cases, however, this recognition has not resulted in the empowerment of African women, who still face great discrimination. This edited volume explores the contributions women have made to all phases of development--planning, design, construction, implementation, and operation--and the obstacles they have had to face. Besides analyzing the current situation and identifying trends, the contributors also make recommendations for policy reform and for future planning.

Book Synopsis

Women have historically provided vision and leadership to African countries and are now being recognized as pivotal to the overall sustainable development of Africa. In many cases, however, this recognition has not resulted in the empowerment of African women, who still face great discrimination. This edited volume explores the contributions women have made to all phases of development--planning, design, construction, implementation, and operation--and the obstacles they have had to face. Besides analyzing the current situation and identifying trends, the contributors also make recommendations for policy reform and for future planning.

Review Quotes

?A handy book for those who are genuinely interested in Africa's development problems....this is a well articulated collection on the concepts of gender and the central position it occupies in the march for Africa's sustainable development....I recommend the book not only to feminist and Africanist scholars, but also a policy formulators and implementers at both the national and international levels.?-International Journal of African History Studies

?Bravo for this very interesting collection of interdisciplinary essays on the important topic of gender in development and in particular about the feminization of the development process in Africa....I would recommend this book for its comprehensive and collaborative attempt to lay out the complex issues of feminization in development processes in Africa....also to be commended for its wide-ranging perspectives, encompassing many points of view; for the guidelines some of the authors offer on further development; and for its emphasis on the need to include women in the development process for the benefit of their families and their societies.?-African Studies Review

"A handy book for those who are genuinely interested in Africa's development problems....this is a well articulated collection on the concepts of gender and the central position it occupies in the march for Africa's sustainable development....I recommend the book not only to feminist and Africanist scholars, but also a policy formulators and implementers at both the national and international levels."-International Journal of African History Studies

"Bravo for this very interesting collection of interdisciplinary essays on the important topic of gender in development and in particular about the feminization of the development process in Africa....I would recommend this book for its comprehensive and collaborative attempt to lay out the complex issues of feminization in development processes in Africa....also to be commended for its wide-ranging perspectives, encompassing many points of view; for the guidelines some of the authors offer on further development; and for its emphasis on the need to include women in the development process for the benefit of their families and their societies."-African Studies Review

About the Author

VALENTINE UDOH JAMES is the Director of the African Studies Program and Associate Professor of Social Science at Kalamazoo College. He specializes in environmental planning in developing countries and has published numerous books and articles on development and environmental issues in Africa, including Resource Management in Developing Countries (Greenwood, 1991) and Sustainable Development in Third World Countries (Praeger, 1996).

JAMES S. ETIM is Associate Professor of English at Mississippi Valley State University. He taught for several years at the University of Jos, Nigeria, where he was also the Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies.