Paper short abstract:

In emergency and reconstruction aid and in the field of BOP (Base of the pyramid) business ventures, aid insufficient attention is still being paid to gender considerations. For women’s empowerment, it is also necessary to consider gender mainstreaming in theses issue.

Paper long abstract:

In emergency and reconstruction aid and in the field of BOP (Base of the pyramid) business ventures, aid insufficient attention is still being paid to gender considerations. This is happening against the background of three factors: first, Gender and Development (GAD) policies have been depoliticized as they have been implemented in a top-down approach and institutionalized, with the same recurring in the GAD policies of other countries; second, assertion of "gender mainstreaming has been accomplished" has led to the scaling back of gender equality due to the distorted connection between the backlash faction in Japan and the institutionalization issues; third, and related to the second　point, the perception that "gender mainstreaming has been accomplished" has precipitated budget cuts impacting GAD policies.

To overcome the above issues, the author advocates on distinguishing between GAD in a narrow sense and GAD in a broad sense. Even though in reality it is difficult to cleanly separate the two senses completely, misguided criticism can be avoided by distinguishing between them for the sake of convenience. This distinction is also helpful to highlight gender issues on site and facilitate concrete discussions for the practice of assistance.

There is a large discrepancy between the position that "gender has been mainstreamed" and the actual accomplishments of gender equity initiatives in the field. The Möbius strip connection between the tale of "accomplishment" and the argument of the pro-backlash people (Fujikake, 2011b) should not impede the advancement of people structurally relegated to subordinate roles in societies needing assistance. For women's empowerment, it is necessary to consider about Gender Mainstreaming in theses area.