Global Perspectives on Gender and Space

Feminism has re-shaped the way we think about equality, power relations and social change. Recent feminist scholarship has provided new theoretical frameworks, methodologies and empirical analyses of how gender and feminism are situated within the development process. Global Perspectives on Gender and Space: Engaging Feminism and Development draws upon this framework to explore the effects of globalization on development in diverse geographical contexts. It explores how women's and men's lives are gendered in specific spaces as well as across multiple landscapes.
Traveling from South Asia to sub-Saharan Africa to North America and the Caribbean, the contributions illustrate the link between gender and global development, including economic livelihoods, policy measures and environmental change. Divided into three sections, Global Perspectives on Gender and Space showcases the following issues: One) the impact of neoliberal policies on transnational migration, public services and microfinance programs; Two) feminist and participatory methodologies employed in the evaluation of land use, women's cooperatives and liberation struggles and Three) gendered approaches to climate change, natural disasters and conservation the global South. A feminist lens is the common thread throughout these sections that weaves gender into the very fabric of everyday life, providing a common link between varied spaces around the globe by mapping gendered patterns of power and social change.
This timely volume provides geographic comparisons and case studies to give empirically informed insights on processes and practices relevant to feminism and development. It illustrates ways to empower individuals and communities through transnational struggles and grassroots organizations, while emphasizing human rights and gender equity, and will be of interest to those studying Geography, Development Studies, International Relations and Gender Studies.

Ann M. Oberhauser is Professor of Geography at West Virginia University, USA. Ibipo Johnston-Anumonwo is Professor of Geography at State University of New York College at Cortland, USA.

1. Engaging Feminism and Development: Worlds of Inequality and Change Part I. Feminist Perspectives on Neoliberal Globalization 2. Gender Equity and Commercialization of Public Toilet Services 3. Out of the Kitchen': Gender, Empowerment and Microfinance Programs in Sri Lanka 4. Neoliberalization, Gender and the Rise of the Diaspora Option in Jamaica 5. Stuck in a Groove'? Gender, Politics and Globalization in Anti-Sex Trafficking Policy Initiatives Part II. Gendering the Field: Participatory Feminist Research 6. Crossing Boundaries: Transnational Feminist Methodologies in the Global North and South 7. Examining Land Use and Gender Relations in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa through Qualitative Methods 8. Participatory Mapping of Women's Daily Lives: Perspectives from Rural Uganda 9. Mapping Differential Geographies: Women's Contributions to the Liberation Struggle in Tanzania Part III. Gender, the Environment and Community-based Development 10. Gender, Livelihoods and the Construction of Climate Change among Masai Pastoralists 11. Gender Mapping in Post-Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Sri Lanka's Tsunami 12. Ecodevelopment, Gender and Empowerment: Perspectives from India's Protected Area Communities