Women in Development approach (WID)

Since the modernisation era, supervised by colonial officials imbued with Western concepts of the sexual division of labour, had placed new technologies in the hands of men, WID "gave a voice to women" and brought gender problems to the foreground of the international development regime. As a result of this process, women are marginalised, lowering their status, influence, and wages. Women were excluded from development practice, research, and policy. They were not entirely gaining, and in some situations, growth worsened their situation. Women were often viewed as though they lacked opportunities to engage in development.

The WID approach argued for women's inclusion in development programs in order to boost women's status in society. There was a focus on welfare-oriented projects aimed at generating revenue as well as services aimed at improving their reproductive roles. In order to increase their economic freedom, women should have fair access to resources and basic needs, including more balanced educational and job opportunities.

Women and Development approach (WAD)

Women, according to the WID strategy, should be included in the modernisation process. According to the WAD viewpoint, it was exactly their association with modernization that had made them poorer. The WAD approach is based on the belief that equity is critical to changing women's status, but it also defines reform in terms of supplying women with access to the productive sector. It focused on the social relationships that exist between women and men, with women always playing productive and reproductive roles in their societies. They argued that the emphasis WID put forward on integrating women into developed was not correct.

The main focus of WAD is on the interaction of women and development processes, rather than on integration in development, as is the case with (WID). WAD argued that the integration of women into development only made their inequality worse.

The WAD approach is particularly useful in the context of South Africa, where women are already perceived as having little value and are looked down upon. In South Africa, there is already a significant gender gap, which must be bridged.