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The aim of this paper is to draw attention on the political origin of the concept of development. It shows that, more than a concept, development could be understood as a paradigm that determines the way we see, define and intervene the world. Moreover, the paper makes a historical review of how gender perspective has been included in the study of poverty, and the resulting policies directed to attend this phenomenon. Additionally, the paper mentions the contributions of gender perspective to the study of poverty in an ampler sense than the intervention one. Finally, it presents further questions about the course that poverty studies with a gender perspective should follow, and the need of a new paradigm -altemative to the development one- that will help us understand, redefine and change social reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews different contributions in the literature on advances and conceptual-methodological dilemmas in the study of poverty from a gender perspective. The paper also comments on the problems raised by this review from an analytical perspective, and its possible implications for public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Amartya Sen's theoretical insights, this paper analyzes indigenous women's poverty in the Sierra Negra, Puebla, as well as their development capacity resulting from their participation in the "Sociedad de Productores Indígenas Ecológicos Sierra Negra Sociedad Civil" (SPIESN, S. C.). Data was collected using a quanti-qualitative approach: a survey, eight in-depth interviews, three participatory workshops and field participant observation were conducted. Results indicate that women value literacy, own-income generation, and land ownership. However, they also face structural limitations when attempting to develop capacities in these areas. Their participation in the organization has given positive results to this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, poverty analyses and policies against poverty have incorporated women as a relevant factor. Nevertheless, some criticisms have been raised against them: first, most of the time, they have relied on an instrumental perspective which does not guarantee better conditions of gender equity; second, poverty analyses have generally become reactive tools that seek to compensate for a current situation, not to prevent it from occurring in the future. This paper therefore proposes to go beyond poverty analyses to identify distinctive features of households derived from social constructions that have an effect on vulnerability, particularly in households headed by women. We point out the importance of an analysis from a gender perspective in order to identify the features which make households more vulnerable to suffering or worsening their conditions of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]