Social Relations Approach

- developed by Naila Kabeer at the Institute of Development Studies,

Sussex University, UK, in collaboration ith policy-ma!ers,
academics, and activists, primarily from the South
- "rounded in socialist feminist thin!in", hich focuses on the
interchan"e beteen social relations and patriarchy
- the approach is full explained in Naila Kabeer#s boo! Reversed
Realities:Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought (1994) and in
a paper by Nalia Kabeer and Ramya Subrahmanian $%&&'(
)Institutions, Relations and *utcomes+ rameor! and ,ools for
-ender-aare .lannin"#
Key /lements+
the "oal of development as human ell-bein"
the concept of social relations
institutional analysis
Aims of the 0rameor!
- Intended as $%( method of analy1in" existin" "ender ine2ualities in
the distribution of resources, responsibilities, and poer, and $3( for
desi"nin" policies and pro"rammes hich enable omen to be
a"ents of their on development4
- Uses concepts rather than tools to concentrate on the relationship
beteen people and their relationship to resources and activities 5
and ho these are re-or!ed throu"h institutions such as the state
or the mar!et
- Narro application by examinin" a particular institutions ill
hi"hli"ht ho "ender ine2uality is formed and reproduced in
individual institutions, and a broader application, focusin" on a
number of institutions in a "iven context, ill reveal ho "ender
and other ine2ualities cross-cut each other throu"h di6erent
institutions# interaction, thus producin" situations of speci7c
disadvanta"e for individuals4
MAIN CONCEPTS
Concept 1: Development as increasing human well!eing
- development is not simply about economic "roth or improved
productivity
- 8uman ell-bein" is seen as concernin" survival, security and
autonomy, here autonomy means the ability to participate fully in
those decisions that shape one#s choices and one#s life chances, at
both the personal and collective level
- Development interventions must be assessed not only on technical
e9ciency, but also on ho ell they contribute to the broader "oals
of survival, security and human di"nity
- :oncept of production does not only include mar!et production
but also all activities hich contribute to ell-bein" 5 includin" all
those tas!s hich people perform to reproduce human labour
$carin", nurturin" and loo!in" after the sic!(, those hich poor
people carry out to survive; and those hich people perform in
carin" for the environment hich ultimately assures their livelihood
$sustainable 7shin"(
Concept ": Social #elations
- Kabeer uses social relations to describe the structural relationships
that create and reproduce systemic di6erences in the positionin" of
di6erent "roups of people
- Such relationships determine ho e are, hat our roles and
responsibilities are, and hat claims can e ma!e; they determine
our ri"hts and control that e have on our lives and those of others
- Social relations produce cross-cuttin" ine2ualities, hich ascribe
each individual a position in the structure and hierarchy of their
society4
- -ender relations are one type of social relations $social relations of
"ender(4 *thers include those of class, race, and ethnicity and so
on4
- Social relations chan"e, not 7xed or immutable4 :han"es at the
macro level can brin" about chan"e in social relations, and human
action can also do so, as evident in the overturnin" of apartheid in
South Africa4
- Determine hat tan"ible and intan"ible resources are available to
"roups and individuals4 0or example, poverty arises out of people#s
une2ual relations, hich dictate une2ual relations to resources,
claims and responsibilities4
- ./*.</ D*N#, S,AR, A, ,8/ SA=/ .*IN, IN ,8/ S*:IA< S>S,/=;
therefore, they have di6erent capacities to ta!e advanta"e of
chan"e or the status 2uo4
- 0or example, poor people in "eneral, and poor omen in particular
are often excluded from formal allocation of resources so they dra
on other resources 5 determined by their social relations 5 hich
play a critical part in their survival strate"ies
- .oor omen often rely on netor!s of family and friends to mana"e
their or!load4 Resources of this !ind, available throu"h social
relations, can be so important that some ould say that )poverty is
bein" alone#4
- .oor people often have access to resources mainly throu"h social
relationships based on patrona"e and dependency, here they have
to trade in their autonomy in return for security4
- Development must also loo! at supportin" relationships hich build
on solidarity and reciprocity, and hich build autonomy, rather than
reduce it4
CONCEPT $: INSTIT%TIONA& ANA&'SIS
De7ne institutions and or"anisations
- Institutions as a frameor! of rules for achievin" certain social or
economic "oals4 It ensure the production, reinforcement, and
reproduction of social relations and thereby create and perpetuate
social di6erence and social ine2uality4
- *r"anisations are de7ned as the speci7c structural forms that
institutions ta!e
- -ender aareness re2uires us to analy1e ho these institutions
actually create and produce ine2ualities
0our !ey institutional locations
?insert table@
:hallen"es 3 myths about institutions
:hallen"in" the ideolo"ical neutrality
- Kabeer a"ues that institutions produce, reinforce and reproduce
social di6erence and ine2ualities
- 0e institutions admit to ideolo"ies of "ender or any other form of
ine2uality
- /ach institution has an o9cial ideolo"y hich accompanies all its
policy and plannin"
- *9cial ideolo"ies that often dominate plannin" practice are+
%4 ,he state pursues the national interest and national elfare
34 ,he mar!et pushes about pro7t maximi1ations
A4 ,he community, includin" N-*s, is about service provision
B4 0amilyC!inship is about altruism; it is a co-operative, not
conDictual institution
- ,o understand ho social di6erence and ine2ualities are produced,
reinforced and produced throu"h institutions, e must move
beyond the o9cial ideolo"y of bureaucratic neutrality, and
scrutini1e the actual rules and practices of institutions to uncover
their core values and assumptions
:hallen"e the myth of independence, or separateness, of institutions
- It asserts that they are inter-related, and that a chan"e in the policy
or practice in one institution ill cause chan"es in the others4
- 0or example, it is often assumed in development or! that a
chan"e in one sphere 5 for example, an intervention hich provides
inputs to enable men in the community to "ro more cash crops 5
ill be self-contained, and ill not have an impact on other spheres,
such as the household4
- :han"es in policy or practice on the part of the state and mar!et
a6ect relationships ithin the family, and chan"es ithin the family
also have an impact on mar!et and the state4
- Development planners must therefore pay attention to interactions
beteen institutions4
- In plannin" an intervention that ill deal ith institutions such as
the household or the community, an N-* ill 7rst need to !no
hat the state#s policies are, and ho is settin" the a"enda for the
country here it aims to or!4
,he Social Relations 0rameor! as developed by Naila
Kabeer
E%F
$Institute of Development Studies in Sussex(4 ,he Social
Relations 0rameor! assesses ho "ender discriminations and ine2ualities
are created, maintained, and reproduced in institutions $i4e4, the
household, community, mar!et, and states( as ell as aims to involve
omen in their on development solutions4 In this ay, it is a political
rather than a technical or informational solution4E3F Social relations shape
the roles, resources, ri"hts, and responsibilities that people access and
claim4 As such, the aim is to assess ho ine2ualities are reproduced in
institutions throu"h social relations and to understand the cross-cuttin"
nature of ine2ualities ithin and across institutions for proGect
development and plannin" purposes4 ,he Social Relations Approach uses
7ve concepts to analy1e "ender ine2uality4EAF

:oncept %+ Development as increasin" human ell-bein"
:oncept 3+ Social relations
:oncept A+ Institutional analysis
:oncept B+ Institutional "ender policies
:oncept H+ Immediate, underlyin", and structural causes

,he approach assesses the immediate, underlyin", and structural factors
that maintain and reproduce ine2uality accordin" the institution type,
household, mar!et, community, state4 ,here are 7ve aspects that are
shared by all institutions, hich shape social relationsI
rules, resources, people, activities, and poer4 Institutions operate in
di6erent ays and reDect the under"irdin" "ender policies $"ender blind,
neutral, aare, speci7c, or redistributive(4

Strengths:


,he Social Relations Approach reframes the analysis from individual
experiences of ine2uality and poer di6erentials to understandin"
the systemic causes and structures of "ender ine2ualities4 ,his
deeper analysis can then inform policy or pro"ram plannin" and
"uide social chan"e interventions and lar"er advocacy e6orts4
,he focus on identifyin" spaces here ine2ualities are constructed
and reproduced allos for a dynamic analysis of "ender relations4
,he assessment of a ran"e of institutional "ender policies that span
from "ender blind to "ender redistributive provides valuable
information for the development of strate"ic interventions and
alternative policy prescriptions4
Jy mappin" the actors involved in "ender poer dynamics, the
fundamental importance of social relations to systemic ine2ualities
is hi"hli"hted4
,he separation of development for e9ciency and productivity from
development for improvin" human ell-bein" and empoerment
o6ers important distinctions for purposes of structural
transformation4
,he potential of explorin" places here structural catalysts to
ine2uality can be disrupted o6ers ne possibilities for development
interventions4

(ea)nesses *or not +esigne+ ,or-:


,he Social Relations Approach does not include multiple voices and
experiences in the analysis because of its structural bias 5 e4"4, this
approach uses an institutional lens to assess and improve policies,
hich may not fully account for "rassroots# experiences or the
contextual speci7cities of particular minority "roups ithin an
institution4
.articipation of "rassroots actors and voices is limited compared to
or"ani1ational sta6 or others ith the formal s!ills re2uired to use
this approach4
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