Analysis of Gender and

Development in EAST Asia:

a comparison between pre-
Industrial and Modern
Period
 Objectives
• To discuss the history of GAD in Asia
• To determine the factors that had contributed in the
development of GAD in Asia
• To determine the roles played by women in the productive and
reproductive functions in the Pre- industrial and Modern
period
• To analyze and compare GAD in pre- industrial and Modern
Period in Asia
• Relating the collected information on GAD on Philippine
context.
 Theoretical
The WID (Women in
Framework
GAD (or Gender and Feminism. Theory that men
Development) approach Development) and women should be equal
calls for greater approach to politically, economically and
attention to women in development policy socially. Reflects the
development policy and and practice focuses diversity of feminism,
practice, and on the socially incorporating perspectives
emphasises the need to constructed basis of from across the broad
integrate them into the differences between spectrum of the humanities
development men and women and and social sciences and the
process. emphasises the need full range of feminist
to challenge existing political and theoretical
gender roles and stances.
relations
 OUTLIN
E
I. Discussion of a brief history of GAD in Asia
II. Factors that affected GAD in Asia
III.Analysis and Comparison of GAD in Pre- Industrial
and Modern period
IV.Application of GAD programs in Philippine
context.
V. Conclusion
I. Discussion of a brief history of GAD in
East Asia
A. Defining the meaning of GAD
1. Discussion of the meaning of GAD
B. The rise and spread of GAD in East Asia
1. GAD during the Pre- Industrial Period
2. GAD in the Modern Period
II. Factors that affected GAD in East Asia

A. Roles of women in productive and reproductive functions

1. Role of women in the productive function in the Pre-
Industrial Period.
2. Role of women in the reproductive function in the
Pre- Industrial Period.
3. Role of women in the productive function in the
Modern Period.
4. Role of women in the reproductive function in the
Modern Period.
II. Factors that affected GAD in East Asia
B. Discussion of implemented programs for GAD in Pre- Industrial
Period
1. Effects on women in economy
2. Effects on women in politics
3. Effects on women in the community
C. Discussion of implemented programs for GAD in Modern Period
1. Effects on women in economy
2. Effects on women in politics
3. Effects on women in the community
III. Analysis and Comparison of GAD in Pre-
Industrial and Modern period

IV. Application of GAD programs in

Philippine context.

V. Conclusion
• Between 1980 and 2009, the global female labor participation
rate increased from 50.2% to 51.8%, while that of male labor
participation decreased from 82% to 77.7%, resulting in the
decline of the gender differentials from 32% to 26% (World Bank
2012).
• However, there is still significant underutilization and
misallocation of women’s skills and talents. In many developing
countries, inequality in access to quality education between girls
and boys adversely impacts girls’ ability to build human and
social capital, lowering their job opportunities and wage in labor
markets. Significant barriers remain to women’s participation in
labor markets (Elborgh-Woytek et al. 2013).
• The participation of women in agriculture and the role of women in society in the preindustrial
period were remarkably different across ethnicities and strongly related to the type of agricultural
technology adopted historically.

WOMEN IN THE PRE-INDUSTRIAL PERIOD

• Shifting agriculture, which uses hand-held tools like the hoe and the digging stick, is labor-
intensive with women actively participating in farm work. In contrast, plough agriculture is more
capital-intensive, using the plough to prepare the soil. It requires significant upper-body strength,
grip strength, and burst of power, which are needed to either pull the plough or control the
animal that pulls it. Also, farming with the plough is less compatible with simultaneous childcare,
which is almost always the responsibility of women. As a result, men tended to specialize in
agricultural work outside the home.
• Societies that traditionally practiced plough agriculture tended to develop a specialization of
production along gender lines. Men tended to work outside the home in the fields, while
women specialized in activities within the home.
• This division of labor then generated norms about the appropriate role of women in society.
Societies based on plough agriculture, and the resulting gender-based division of labor,
developed a cultural belief that the natural place for women is within the home.
• In South and East Asia, for example, there is a strong connection
between the work of women and the direction of marriage payments;
in Burma, Malaysia, and Laos, women do most of the agricultural
work and bride prices are customary. Not only has the payment of a
dowry but also the use of the veil and the seclusion of women at
home often characterized plough societies. In the ancient Arab
society, or in Sudan, even today, it appears to be a mark of distinction
and sophistication for an educated girl to retire into seclusion when
she has finished her education.
• The researchers choose three countries in East Asia to compare with.
• China, Korea and Japan.
Strides toward gender equality in East Asia have been similarly
noteworthy. Most countries in the region have either reached or
surpassed gender parity in education enrollments. Health outcomes for
both women and men have improved significantly. Female labor force
participation rates in the region are relatively high. Yet despite
considerable progress in this economically dynamic region, gender
disparities persist in a number of important areas—particularly in access
to economic opportunity and in voice and influence in society. For policy
makers in East Asian countries, closing these gender gaps represents an
important challenge to achieving more inclusive and effective
development.
Women’s Status in Pre industrial period of Japan
• Women living under the Tokugawa Shogunate (1602-1868), as the
government of Japan was known, did not exist legally. Women could not own
property, and according to a Portuguese trader, a woman's "...husband may
kill his wife for being lazy or bad."
• Women were urged to live according to the saying "umeyo fuyaseyo" -
produce more babies and increase the population.
• Poor women were drafted by the Japanese government to sexually service
military men. Known as “comfort women,” these women worked in an
assembly line-like environment.
• Peasant women continued to have de facto freedom of movement and
decision making power, but upper-class women's lives were subject to the
patrilineal and patriarchal ideology supported by the government as part of
its efforts at social control.
• Women’s Status in Modern period of Japan
Post WWII Occupation abruptly changed the gender roles of Japan.
Discrimination based on gender was forbidden by the Japanese Constitution.
Women still control the household, household budget, and household
decisions, allowing men to devote themselves to their work. This is changing
as more women start careers. Both genders are also delaying marriage. The
stigma of being single is fading for both genders, most of all for women.
Individual rights were given precedence over obligation to family. Women as
well as men were guaranteed the right to choose spouses and occupations, to
inherit and own property in their own names, to initiate divorce, and to retain
custody of their children. Women were given the right to vote in 1946. Other
postwar reforms opened education institutions to women and required that
women receive equal pay for equal work.
• Programs and Laws
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) in 1980
Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL)
JAPAN's Initiative on WID
The legal position of women was redefined by the occupation authorities, who
included an equal rights clause in the 1947 Constitution and the revised Civil
Code of 1948
In 1986 the Equal Employment Opportunity Law took effect.

• Contrast to the Philippines

The data for Japan contrast with the Philippines, where a higher maternal
mortality ratio and a higher adolescent fertility rate prevail, but more women are
active in politics and on the labor market.
Women’s Status in Pre-industrial period of China
Given the importance assigned to continuing the ancestral sacrifices
through patrilineal descendants, a wife’s standing within her family of
marriage depended on the birth of male heirs. Yet, because of the
practice of concubinage, even if a wife bore sons, her standing could be
undermined if her husband took concubines who also bore sons.
It is often said that the status of women began to decline in the Song
period, just when Neo-Confucianism was gaining sway. The two signs of
this decline most frequently mentioned are the pressure on widows
not to remarry and the practice of binding young girls’ feet to prevent
them from growing more than a few inches long.
Whilst communism pushed men and women to work together, China’s
traditional Confucianism, which berates “strong women,” lingers. This
ideological contradiction results in a society wherein female high-flyers
experience difficulty finding partners and women face prejudice in
higher education and the workplace.
Women’s Status in Modern period of China
China's post-1949 leaders devoted energy and attention to changing
some aspects of traditional society, such as rural land property and the
content of education
Husbands were now not allowed to abusing their wives, have
concubines, or use prostitutes. Marriages could no longer be arranged.
Both sexes were forced to wear the same gender neutral padded
clothing.
At present, women account for 44 percent of the total number of
employees in China, higher than the average world standard of 34.5
percent.
They can choose their own husbands, get a divorce and attend college.
• Programs and Laws
In 1990, the State Council established the National Working Committee on
Children and Women (NWCCW)
At the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing Conference) held in
1995, the international community acknowledged the concept of gender
mainstreaming as a method of entrenching the GAD approach.
People's Republic of China Concerning the Protection of the Rights and
Interests of Women for the first time legislated on the proportion of
women to participate in government and political affairs
The Outline for the Development of Chinese Women is a national
program of action to carry out the Platform for Action adopted in
1995 in Beijing and push forward gender equality and women's
development in a comprehensive way.
Women’s Status in Preindustrial period of Korea
Chosun Dynasty, especially as Confucianism gained strength. During
this period women were not to be seen by anyone outside the family
and they remained confined at home.
From a young age, women were taught the virtues of subordination
and endurance to prepare for their future roles as wife and mother.
Women, in general, could not participate in society as men did, and
their role was limited to household matters.
Women’s Status in Modern period of Korea
As economic development proceeded and the living conditions of
Koreans improved, the educational attainment level of women also
increased. In 1966, among those graduating from elementary school,
only 33 percent of girls continued their education in middle school. The
comparable figures for high school and university were 20 percent and
4 percent, respectively, during the same period. However, by 1998, the
comparable ratios reached 99.5 percent and 61.6 percent for high
school and university. The economic participation rate of women also
has increased steadily since industrialization from 34.4 percent in 1965
to 48.1 percent in 1999.
By 1998, 12.6 percent of female employees were serving in
professional or managerial positions, and another 16 percent were
working in clerical occupations.
Programs and Laws
“Equal Employment Act” in 1987 to prevent discriminatory practices
against female workers in regard to hiring and promotion
opportunities.
Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs was established to handle
issues specifically involving women.