When Two Orthodoxies Clash? : A Study of Gender Mainstreaming and Participatory Development at Sida

Sammanfattning: This study explores the relationship between two orthodoxies in contemporary development: gender mainstreaming and participatory development. Specifically, this study examines whether these two strategies stand in conflict, in theory and in practice, where the donor agency the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) serves as the empirical case. Discourse analysis was conducted to examine whether the conflict can be discerned in Sida’s written suggestions for how to work with gender mainstreaming in development cooperation. To add nuance and depth, interviews have been carried out with Sida staff members to gain broad perspectives on the potential conflict. This study argues that the conflict can be discerned based on the underlying principles of gender mainstreaming and participatory development. While this study also provides a first attempt to illustrate how the conflict manifests itself in practice, future research is needed to establish the conflict’s empirical appearances. However, this study contributes with valuable indications of the conflict’s appearance and manifestation in practical development efforts that Sida is engaged in.