WOMEN, INK. BOOKLINK #50

August 2005
Alice Quinn

New Titles in the Women, Ink. Collection Readings in Gender in Africa Macro-Economics: Making Gender Matter-Concepts, Policies and Institutional Change in Developing Countries Transnational Prostitution, Changing Global Policies Gender Dimensions in Disaster Management, A Guide for South Asia For further information on the new books, please visit our website at www.womenink.org. To order any of these publications, please refer to the ordering information below.   Readings in Gender in Africa Andrea Cornwall, ed. Readings in Gender in Africa collects the most important critical and theoretical writings on how gender issues have transformed contemporary views of Africa. Scholarship from North America, Europe, and Africa is represented in this comprehensive volume. A synthetic introduction by Andrea Cornwall discusses efforts to include women in research about Africa. The volume not only shows how gender relations have been constructed on the African continent but reflects the changes in approach and inquiry that have been brought about as scholars consider gender identities and difference in their work. Specific themes covered here include the contestation and representation of gender, femininity and masculinity, livelihoods and lifeways, gender and religion, gender and culture, and gender and governance. Readers from across the landscape of African studies will find this an essential sourcebook 2005. ISBN 0-253-21740-7. 247 pages. WE 722.$24.95   Macro-Economics: Making Gender Matter-Concepts, Policies and Institutional Change in Developing Countries Martha Gutierrez, ed. The gender approach is increasingly examining macro-economic theories and policies in the light of their differential impacts on men and women. This volume, with its wide-ranging theoretical explorations and specific case studies, seeks to make a contribution to that process. The 16 contributors make clear that systematic gender biases are present at all levels - in institutions, markets and the household - and present options for introducing social structures to the macro-economic agenda. The intention is to offer a new framework that brings economic theory and policy-making closer to the circumstances and motivations of real life economic agents. Three broad areas are covered: macro-economics and gender; gender and the state; and the institutionalisation of gender considerations in national and international organizations. Using original empirical material, in particular from Latin America, a wide range of key issues are explored, such as the gender-differentiated effects of economic policy and public spending decisions; unpaid household labour; gender statistics; gender equality in planning and public policy, and the notion of economies as gendered structures. This book includes abbreviations, acronyms, chapter bibliographies, tables and index. 2003. ISBN 1 84277 061 6. 304 pages. WE710. $29.95   Transnational Prostitution Changing Global Priorities Susanne Thorbek and Bandana Pattanaik, eds. Patterns of prostitution, like so much else in our increasingly interconnected world, are changing radically as the investigations in this volume dramatically show. The question of migrant prostitutes in the West may be much debated, but it is little researched. This collection, with contributions from 14 authors, makes a radical break with the current media focus on human trafficking and the old habit of simply blaming the victim. What emerges is a nuanced and empirically grounded portrait of the complexities of prostitution across national boundaries today. As befits a subject with such huge consequences for the lives of people, this volume includes personal testimony alongside sociological investigation. Testimony comes from both prostitutes and clients. Men are dealt with as customers, as creators of dominant European notions of sexuality, race and prostitution, and as prostitutes themselves, selling services to women tourists. Of particular interest are the authors‚Äô explorations of innovative new policies being pioneered in the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as the impact of rising anti-immigrant feeling. It also includes an index and a section about the contributors. 2002. ISBN 1 84277 031 4. 237 pages. WE715. $29.95   Gender Dimensions in Disaster Management A Guide for South Asia Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu, Maithree Wickramasinghe This is the first book to look at gender issues in disasters in the context of South Asia, where disasters have a crucial impact on the development process. With global economic costs related to disasters averaging US$ 880 billion per year and nearly 90 percent of natural disasters and 95 percent of disaster-related deaths worldwide occur in developing countries, the issue has major implications for development efforts. Based on the experience of regional experts‚Äô work with communities living in situations of natural hazards in South Asia, the book shows‚Äîthrough a series of practical examples--how exploring the specific capacities and vulnerabilities of men and women in disaster situations, and taking account of them, will improve the chance of success in development projects.  It presents real-life examples, and case studies, which depict the subtle gender concerns and gender-based social dynamics prevalent in managing disasters and protecting  livelihoods. This Guide puts forward convincing arguments that the disaster management approach should be revisited and reframed to make it more gender sensitive.  It does so through a blend of analysis with action.  Following a chapter that addresses the absence of gender sensitivity in current disaster management,  the authors continue by presenting a number of "hands-on" tools for taking action including several checklists, a framework for gender-livelihoods analysis in disasters, a glossary of frequently used terms and two sets of guidelines, one for policymakers and one for disaster management practitioners, based on best practice examples. 2003. ISBN 1 85339 607 9. 176pages. WE 721 $22.50   If you have friends and colleagues whom you think will find the Booklinks useful, please let us know. To subscribe to Booklink, send an e-mail to wink@womenink.org and type the word "subscribe" in the subject line. ORDERING INFORMATION All orders need to be prepaid by credit card (MasterCard/Visa), cheque (US dollars drawn on a US bank) or direct deposit into Women, Ink.‚Äôs bank account (Chase Bank, New York #152012761). We don‚Äôt advise e-mailing your credit card number for security reasons; instead, fax it to us at 212-661-2704 or order on-line at http://www.womenink.org.  Special shipping and handling rate for above titles only (please mention Booklink in your order): North America - US$5.00 for the first book, US$2.00 for each additional book; elsewhere - US$6.00 first, $3 each add‚Äôl (surface). Contact us for rates for airmail or courier service. Women, Ink., 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Alice Quinn, Programme Coordinator, Tel: 212-687-8633 ext. 207; Mary Wong, Sales Manager Tel: 212-687-8633 ext. 204, Fax: 212-661-2704, E-mail: wink@womenink.org Web site: http://www.womenink.org Women, Ink. 777 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: 212-687-8633 ext. 204; Fax: 212-661-2704 E-mail: wink@womenink.org, Web site: http://www.womenink.org Women, Ink. empowers women worldwide with knowledge to transform communities Booklinks are made possible by funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)