In the last decade poststructural and postmodern critiques have increasingly dominated the world of scholarship. The grand theories of the past have been called into question; universals have been overtaken by particularities and difference. Feminist scholars have reacted to postmodernism in a number of ways. Some reject it outright, while others call for a synthesis of feminist and postmodern approaches. Many scholars and activists concerned with Third World issues, especially poverty and development, have rejected both feminism and postmodernism, dismissing them as First World preoccupations, if not indulgences. This article seeks to explore the relevance of postmodern feminism for Third World problems and analysis, particularly its utility for theorists and practitioners concerned with issues of women and development.

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Gender mainstreaming, with its promise of gender transformation, equality and empowerment, has become a central pillar of development discourse, policy and practice. Yet, the implementation of these promises has largely been disappointing. Proposed 'solutions' have brought little new to the table. This article suggests that we need to rethink the link between policy and implementation, recognising that both are political processes and that while policies set agendas, both policies and their implementation are deeply influenced by societal factors. Drawing on critical development analysis and feminist writings, the article explores the transformative potential of gender mainstreaming in international development organisations in an increasingly complex, unequal and gendered world. Copyright

Drawing on the themes of men and masculinity, this article examines texts in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of local multinational enterprises (MNEs) in South Korea, an emerging economy. This article explores how Korean male hegemony is hidden and naturalized in CSR reporting. Focusing on the discursive construction of gender identity, we analyze how CSR reports portray gendered identities in ways that may foster gender inequality by examining how the texts reflect the inferior position of women and marginalized male workers in the workplace. We review 15 CSR reports from Korean MNEs as a primary data source for examining corporate policies and disclosure on gender‐equality issues in the workplace. We explore the inherently embedded meaning of CSR reports to evaluate the masculine tone of gender relations in these texts. To deepen our understanding, we retrieved the original text segments, coded them by using a categorical framework and revisited our data to critically examine our interpretation of the narrative structures that we argue reflect and reproduce certain discourses of masculinity, through the (in)visibility of women, the marginalization of women and (part‐time) men, and the silencing of their voices by the Korean male hegemony.

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given greater attention in the text? And why is it that a large population of even urban professional women remain impervious to both the 'leftover women' rhetoric, and its patriarchal underpinnings?Third, the referencing in Leftover Women does not meet good scholarly standards. As a consequence, readers may have difficulty tracing the original source of arguments and information in the text. To be fair, the referencing style was most likely chosen by Zed Books. It was an unwise choice, given that the publishers describe the books in this series as being 'aimed at the growing number of students and general readers who want to know more about the region … scholarly but engaged'. This, though, is not a text I would recommend to students and scholars. For a general readership, however, the book makes for an appealing read on an important topic.

While violence against women is a recognised global health problem, women's agency in marginalised settings is poorly understood, particularly in relation to health systems. We explored agency as a practical and theoretical construct through qualitative research among 20 nurses with direct or indirect experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Johannesburg. Interviews conducted from August 2013 to March 2014 generated rich descriptions from respondents in five health facilities. Nurses' self-reported IPV matched national prevalence of 24-31%. Findings revealed the way in which agency is enacted by nurses, allowing them the economic means to leave abusive partnerships, yet disabling them from agency and health promotion in their workplace. At the same time, nurses expanded agentic possibilities for patients by enabling a national response to IPV within South African health clinics - one that is largely undocumented. We posit that nurses can serve as important agentic actors in public health systems in low- and middle-income country settings by assisting patients to address IPV, even in the absence of targeted training and guidelines. To ensure the health and well-being of women experiencing IPV, nurses should be supported by the health sector to respond skilfully to patients and to safely process their own experiences of violence.

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