THE area of gender and development studies is said to have prospects for economic growth in Jamaica, and more people are opting to do courses in the discipline.

According to Dr Leith Dunn, senior lecturer and head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, integrating gender in economic development can help in job training and job creation for both sexes.

“As more people understand the value of this discipline they will value the degree and how it can be used to enhance economic growth and development in various sectors,” Dr Dunn said.

At the university, the bachelor of science degree in gender and development studies currently has 250 students enrolled and since the years 2009/2010, 41 have graduated. On top of that, the unit teaches over 1,000 undergraduate students each year in 15 gender courses, as some choose these courses as free electives.

Dr Dunn said the degree can be used in local, regional and international development agencies.

“Gender and development is multidisciplinary and these degrees are in demand around the world as the concept of development globally includes the concept of gender equality. The skills can be applied to many disciplines and occupations,” she said.

She added: “The National Policy for Gender Equality highlights the importance of integrating gender in all development policies and programmes and in all sectors. This will enhance productivity, support economic growth and ensure that areas of discrimination can be eliminated.”

Below are a few disciplines within which the degree can be utilised.

Medicine

According to Dr Dunn, the module on gender issues in health taught to postgraduate students in the Family Medicine programme in the Faculty of Medical Sciences enables doctors to understand the differential risk factors for their male and female patients in different age groups and from various socioeconomic backgrounds.

“They learn to use knowledge of gender roles to also improve diagnosis and treatment. Gender and development graduates can help to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent males and females and reduce risks,” Dr Dunn said.

Transport

“In the national road safety programme, gender specialists can help to collect sex-disaggregated data and analyse patterns and trends of road crashes and use this knowledge to improve policies, as well as develop and target messages to change behaviour,” Dr Dunn said. She added that this will reduce injuries and deaths.

Agriculture

Dr Dunn explained that findings from research conducted by the unit on gender, age, climate change and rural development provide insights into how gender inequality in land ownership, land tenure, access to credit and technology can impact the productivity of male and female farmers.

“Analysis of age and gender helps us to understand how best to encourage young males and females to become engaged in farming and how best to help older male and female farmers to adapt to climate change,” she said.

Manage finances

“It can help lending institutions to understand the gender-related behaviours to better guide access to credit for small and large businesses. Gender can be mainstreamed in debt management to better manage the impact of difficult structural adjustment programmes on male-dominated and female-dominated households,” Dr Dunn explained.

Where the prospects for economic growth are concerned, Dr Dunn explained that once the value of the discipline is understood by the country’s stakeholders, it will be used to enhance growth and development in various sectors.

However, she said, many tread lightly when considering a degree in the area, mainly because they don’t understand how to utilise the degree.

“Some parents, teachers and students are cautious because they are unaware of the many opportunities and may discourage young men and women from studying for this degree. But the UWI offers master’s and PhD programmes in gender and development. Many of our graduates are already employed in organisations and sectors using their gender knowledge and skills,” she said.

“Two of our recent BSc male graduates secured postgraduate scholarships to pursue degrees overseas: one is completing an MBA in the USA and another secured a European Union scholarship to study development studies in Samoa (Pacific). Already the student pursuing his MBA reported that the course demands knowledge of gender and development which has given him an advantage over many of his peers,” Dr Dunn explained.