Gender and Development: The Economic Basis of Womens Power

About Will Henry

Samuel Cohn is professor of sociology at Texas A&M University. He is the founder and first president of the American Sociological Association section on development. He has won the American Sociological Associations Jessie Barnard Award for the best book on gender his Process of Occupational Sex-Typing (Temple 1985). Among his other works are a general book on race and gender discrimination in the United States studies of race discrimination in American cities a book on Brazilian economic development and studies of development processes in 19th century Norway and the British Celtic fringe. He recently won a prize from the American Sociological Association for his service to development sociology. Rae Lesser Blumberg is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. Much of her academic work involves her general theory of gender stratification and theory of gender and development. In both womens versus mens relative economic power (defined as control of income and other assets) is posited as the keybut not solefactor affecting gender equality and many other development-related outcomes. She has worked in virtually all sectors of development in 48 countries since Peace Corps in Venezuela with the World Bank USAID UNESCO UNDP and other UN agencies the African Development Bank Inter-American Development Bank various international nongovernmental organizations and individual governments. She was president of the Sociology of Development Section of the American Sociological Association in 20142015. Her BS MA and PhD are from Northwestern University and she is the author/coauthor of more than 100 publications including eight books.