Desenvolvimento, Gênero e Empoderamento: uma análise de sua intersecção no sistema ONU.

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate how the empowerment approach, part of the Gender and Development agenda, was mobilized by the United Nations (UN) since the 1990s. For this purpose, a descriptive analysis was conducted from secondary sources and data, as this is exploratory and qualitative research. Besides, the interdisciplinary literature dedicated to the intersection of the two themes was reviewed, especially the Gender and Development (GAD) perspective and the empowerment, using Third-World and Postcolonial feminist authors. Still, it sought to bring the main debates, conferences, and normative devices at the institutional level, which contributed to the articulation between gender and development through the notion of empowerment. To this end, more specifically, the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development (1994-2014) conducted by UN departments was analyzed. Thus, it was found that women's empowerment was mobilized in its economic bias, based on the logic of market efficiency and the growth of nations. Added to this, it was noted that the concept of empowerment is not discussed in theoretical terms and that women are often seen through a Western, universalizing perspective. Thus, there was a predominance of aspects of the liberal dimension, Women In Development (WID). Therefore, this dissertation sought to understand how the perspective of empowerment became a political strategy, especially in economic terms at the UN.