Gender integration in enterprise development programmes

Despite the intent for gender balanced development in their strategy and policy documents, donor-funded enterprise development programmes are still implicitly guided by the women in development (WID) approach that considers women as mere ‘beneficiaries’ of economic growth. This paper is based on data collected from enterprise development programmes that operate within the framework of Business Development Service (BDS) market development, women entrepreneurs associations and BDS providers in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that the current approach to addressing gender is often weak and without adequate strategic focus on how programmes could contribute to changing the wider picture of existing gender inequality. The paper concludes that instead of over emphasising the “cost-effectiveness” criterion that may exclude gender from programme interventions, enterprise development programmes should rather consider integrating gender as a matter of ‘priority’. The important considerations should be the ‘outreach’, ‘sustainability’ and tangible ‘impact’ that such integration could make in attaining gender-balanced development.