Initiatives emerging from this approach have tended to target women specifically to increase their access to basic needs and social services, reduce their work burdens, and enhance their productive capacity and economic independence. GAD recognises that both men and women are key actors in the development process and therefore should have access to corresponding decisions, resources and benefits. This approach, therefore, calls for overall development strategies which respond to the specific needs of men and women, and support actions which ensure their access to and control over the resources and benefits of development. Therefore, the special interest in women's development arises because women are a majority amongst the most disadvantaged. Empowerment Is an important element of development, being the process by which people take control an action in order to overcome the obstacles of structural inequality which have previously put them in a disadvantaged position.
Empowerment is an essential process for women's advancement.
Equality of Opportunity Means that everybody has an equal chance, especially for equal access. In other words, equality of opportunity means that there is no structural discrimination standing in the way of any individual or social group. Equality of opportunity for women would mean ending all gender discrimination. Mainstreaming Used in connection with women's development, this entails addressing gender issues in all development projects and programmes, irrespective of sector or type of project. For those who interpret women's development as being merely concerned with improving women's access to resources and productivity, the strategy of mainstreaming may be interpreted by adding gender objectives to existing programmes.