Parallel session
Gender equality

Book - Towards Gender Equity in DevelopmentThis session brings together speakers who contributed to a UNU-WIDER project on Gender and Development that culminated in an edited book volume published by Oxford University Press.

This session will provide an overview of key findings of the book volume. Detailed presentations will address topics related to marital practices such as bride prices in central Africa, the consequences of marital shocks for women, social engineering to eliminate harmful social customs, and how gendered norms that vary by social strata affect the well-being of women.

Session videos

Parallel 7.1 | Gender equality

Jean-Philippe Platteau | Shareen Joshi | Sara Lowes | Dominique van de Walle | Q&A

Collaborators

Jo Beall | Chair

Jo Beall is Director Education and Society and a member of the Executive Board at the British Council. Her past roles include Professor of Development Studies at the LSE and Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of Cape Town. Professor Beall is a specialist in international education, international development, and cities in fragile and conflict situations. She is a regular speaker at major conferences and has written numerous books and articles.  

Jean-Philipe PlatteauJean-Philippe Platteau | Presenter | Presentation

Jean-Philippe Platteau is Professor of Economics, and the Director of CRED (Centre de Recherche en Economie du Developpement), at the University of Namur, Belgium. Professor Platteau has published widely in journals and published several books. His main research area is development economics and economics of institutions focussing on understanding of the role of institutions in economic development, and the processes of institutional change, especially under the joint impact of population growth and market penetration. 

Shareen Joshi | Presenter | Presentation

Shareen Joshi is an Assistant Professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Her work focuses on economic development, particularly human capital and agency. Awards received include the Yale University Arthur Leylan Dissertation Fellowship, Cowles Foundation Scholarship for Research in Economics, and Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship, among others. Professor Joshi has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and working papers.

Sara Lowes | Presenter | Presentation

Sarah Lowes is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Bocconi University and a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar with the Institutions, Organizations & Growth research program. She is also a Research Associate of Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research (IGIER) and Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Professor Lowes’ interests lie at the intersection of development economics, political economy, and economic history.

Dominique van de Walle | Presenter | Presentation

Dominique van de Walle is currently a lead economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group and from October will be a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington. Her research focuses on poverty, social protection, impact evaluation and gender issues. She has authored dozens of papers and three books on these topics. Much of her recent past research has been on Vietnam, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.