Devaki Jain
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Devaki Jain (born 1933) is a development economist and activist best known for her work on development, South Asia, and feminist economics. Throughout her career, Jain has bridged academic and policy-oriented work. She and her husband, Lakshmi Chand Jain, are noted Gandhians.
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[edit] United Nations and International Networking
Jain has traveled extensively as a participant in many networks and forums. As Chair of the Advisory Committee on Gender for the United Nations Center in Asia Pacific, she has visited numerous countries, including most Pacific and Caribbean Island. In Africa, she has visited Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Benin and Senegal, Liberia, Cote D’lvoir, South Africa and Botswana. Along with Dr. Julius Nyerere, she had the privilege of meeting with and discussing the visions and concerns of African leaders.
She was also a member of the Advisory Panel set up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to advise on the preparation of the 1997 Human Development Report on Poverty and for the 2002 Report on Governance.
She was a Peace of the UN as a member of the Eminent Persons Group of the Graca Machel Study Group appointed by the UN to study the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children.
In Women, Development, and the UN -- A Six-Year Quest for Equality and Justice she shows how women’s contributions have changed and shaped developments and practices at the UN. She introduces the term “feminization of poverty” from the feminist economist point of view. “‘Feminization of poverty,’” Jain explains, “was used to describe three distinct elements: that women have a higher incidence of poverty than men, that women’s poverty is more severe than that of men, that a trend toward greater poverty among women is associated with rising rates of female-headed households.”(Jain 2005) According to her, “feminization of work” connotes low-quality, lowly-paid work. Jain argues that “feminization” devalues the increased presence of women. [1]
[edit] History
[edit] Personal background
Jain was born in 1933 in the city of Mysore, India in a family of high social standing. Her father M. A. Sreenivasan was a civil servant, and her mother managed the large household. Jain studied at convent schools in her early years. She graduated with a degree in economics from Oxford University. She taught at Delhi University.
Jain married Lakshmi Chand Jain when she was 33 years old, which was late by Indian standards. In 1969 she left the university scene to care for her sons. Through working on her book, Women in India, she involved herself in feminist issues. She took an active part in writing, lecturing, networking, building, leading, and supporting women.
Jain was founder of the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) in New Delhi and served as director until 1994. She has also worked in the field of women’s employment and edited the book Indian Women for India’s International Women’s Year.
Gandhian philosophy has influenced Jain’s work and life. In line with this philosophy, her academic research has focused on issues of equity, democratic decentralization, people-centered development, and women’s rights. She has worked for local, national, and international women’s movements. She currently lives in Bangalore, India.
[edit] Academic life
Jain was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (1999) from the University of Durban-Westville, Republic of South Africa. She also received the Bradford Morse Memorial Award (1995) from the UNDP at the Beijing World Conference. She was a visiting Fellow at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex (1993) and a Fulbright Senior Fellow affiliated both with Harvard University and Boston University (1984). She was also a Fellow at the Government of Karnatakas State Planning Board, a member of the UGC’s Standing Committee on Women’s Studies, and a member of the South Commission chaired by the late Dr. Julious Nyerere.
[edit] Books by Jain
- Vocabulary of Women’s Politics (2001)
- Minds, Bodies and Exemplars: Reflections at Beijing and Beyond (1996)
- (with Diana L. Eck) Speaking of faith: global perspectives on women, religion and social change, Philadelphia: New Society. ISBN 3-1272-00450-5366 (1986)
- Tyranny of the Household: Investigative Essays on Women’s Work (1985)
- Women’s Quest for Power: Five Case Studies (1979)
- Indian Women (1975)
- (with Pam Rajput) Narratives from the women's studies family: recreating knowledge, New Delhi and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-7619-9695-8 (2003)
[edit] References
- ^ Jain, Devaki. 2005. Women, Development, and the UN – A Six-Year Quest for Equality and Justice Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34697-5
[edit] Further reading
- Fraser, Arvonne S. and Irene Tinker. 2004 Developing power: how women transformed international development. New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York. ISBN 155861484-2
