Nutrition: How Much Gender Matters and What To Do About It

This week Dr. Elvira will speak to Dr. Rae Blumburg, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. They will discuss her recent work on the connections between nutrition and gender and the implications they both have on development. 

Dr. Rae Lesser Blumberg has lived a double life in academia and development, working in 44 countries since serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Venezuela.  She’s worked in virtually all sectors of development, with the World Bank, USAID, UNESCO, UNDP and other UN agencies, the African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, various international NGOs and individual governments. Much of her academic work involves her general theory of gender stratification and a still-evolving theory of gender and development; in both, women’s vs. men’s relative economic power (defined as control of income and other assets) is posited as the key – but not sole – factor affecting gender equality and many other development-related outcomes.  All her degrees are from Northwestern University and she is the author of over 100 publications. Recent work examines the links between nutrition/ health, development and gender, especially women’s economic empowerment.