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Women's Empowerment - A discourse analysis of the women's empowerment concept in UN Women

Engvall, Linn LU (2018) SIMV29 20181
Department of Political Science
Graduate School
Master of Science in Development Studies
Abstract
The concept of women’s empowerment is subject to much debate within the development field. This thesis seeks to uncover the meaning of the concept by examining the prevailing discourse of women’s empowerment within UN Women. Several historical and contemporary theorists within the empowerment debate, such as Naila Kabeer, Srilatha Batliwala and Amartya Sen, are touched upon and applied in the analysis together with a critical theoretical view from postcolonialism, building on thoughts of Ania Loomba and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. The use of a methodological approach emerging from poststructuralism has enabled a discourse analysis of the women’s empowerment concept, applying discourse analysis theory elaborated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal... (More)
The concept of women’s empowerment is subject to much debate within the development field. This thesis seeks to uncover the meaning of the concept by examining the prevailing discourse of women’s empowerment within UN Women. Several historical and contemporary theorists within the empowerment debate, such as Naila Kabeer, Srilatha Batliwala and Amartya Sen, are touched upon and applied in the analysis together with a critical theoretical view from postcolonialism, building on thoughts of Ania Loomba and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. The use of a methodological approach emerging from poststructuralism has enabled a discourse analysis of the women’s empowerment concept, applying discourse analysis theory elaborated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. By applying their key elements as tools in the analysis, the meaning behind the prevailing discourse is revealed. The discourse analysis has been conducted on representable documents published by UN Women; their earliest annual report after their first full year of work published in 2012, and their annual report published in 2016, right in the division of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era of work and in the beginning of the new strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The somewhat unexpected findings indicate signs of the beginning of a turn in the definition of empowerment, going back towards a more historical meaning concerning social norms and self-worth, after a period of heavy focus on economic growth and individuality. (Less)
Popular Abstract
The concept of women’s empowerment is subject to much debate within the development field. This thesis seeks to uncover the meaning of the concept by examining the prevailing discourse of women’s empowerment within UN Women. Several historical and contemporary theorists within the empowerment debate, such as Naila Kabeer, Srilatha Batliwala and Amartya Sen, are touched upon and applied in the analysis together with a critical theoretical view from postcolonialism, building on thoughts of Ania Loomba and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. The use of a methodological approach emerging from poststructuralism has enabled a discourse analysis of the women’s empowerment concept, applying discourse analysis theory elaborated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal... (More)
The concept of women’s empowerment is subject to much debate within the development field. This thesis seeks to uncover the meaning of the concept by examining the prevailing discourse of women’s empowerment within UN Women. Several historical and contemporary theorists within the empowerment debate, such as Naila Kabeer, Srilatha Batliwala and Amartya Sen, are touched upon and applied in the analysis together with a critical theoretical view from postcolonialism, building on thoughts of Ania Loomba and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. The use of a methodological approach emerging from poststructuralism has enabled a discourse analysis of the women’s empowerment concept, applying discourse analysis theory elaborated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. By applying their key elements as tools in the analysis, the meaning behind the prevailing discourse is revealed. The discourse analysis has been conducted on representable documents published by UN Women; their earliest annual report after their first full year of work published in 2012, and their annual report published in 2016, right in the division of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era of work and in the beginning of the new strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The somewhat unexpected findings indicate signs of the beginning of a turn in the definition of empowerment, going back towards a more historical meaning concerning social norms and self-worth, after a period of heavy focus on economic growth and individuality. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Engvall, Linn LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV29 20181
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Empowerment, UN Women, discourse analysis, Laclau and Mouffe, postcolonialism, poststructuralism
language
English
id
8934170
date added to LUP
2018-02-21 11:02:23
date last changed
2018-02-21 11:02:23
@misc{8934170,
  abstract     = {{The concept of women’s empowerment is subject to much debate within the development field. This thesis seeks to uncover the meaning of the concept by examining the prevailing discourse of women’s empowerment within UN Women. Several historical and contemporary theorists within the empowerment debate, such as Naila Kabeer, Srilatha Batliwala and Amartya Sen, are touched upon and applied in the analysis together with a critical theoretical view from postcolonialism, building on thoughts of Ania Loomba and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. The use of a methodological approach emerging from poststructuralism has enabled a discourse analysis of the women’s empowerment concept, applying discourse analysis theory elaborated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. By applying their key elements as tools in the analysis, the meaning behind the prevailing discourse is revealed. The discourse analysis has been conducted on representable documents published by UN Women; their earliest annual report after their first full year of work published in 2012, and their annual report published in 2016, right in the division of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era of work and in the beginning of the new strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The somewhat unexpected findings indicate signs of the beginning of a turn in the definition of empowerment, going back towards a more historical meaning concerning social norms and self-worth, after a period of heavy focus on economic growth and individuality.}},
  author       = {{Engvall, Linn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Women's Empowerment - A discourse analysis of the women's empowerment concept in UN Women}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}