[2] In Africa, one of the first to recognise the importance of women in farming was Hermann Baumann in 1928, with his classic article The Division of Work According to African Hoe Culture.
[4] In the preface to her book, Boserup wrote that "in the vast and ever-growing literature on economic development, reflections on the particular problems of women are few and far between".
Women were excluded from many types of formal job, so 94% of the female workforce was engaged in the unorganized sector employed in agriculture, agro-forestry, fishery, handicrafts and so on.
Policies on industrialization, food and agriculture, science and technology and social development should all involve women.
It said "future projects should avoid the home economics approach and focus on income-generating activities which are relevant and useful to the women participating".
It also noted the lack of information about women's roles and activities, and called for greater research as input to development projects.
James Austin, who was well known for case-method training at Harvard, led a team with three women experienced in WID work: Catherine Overholt, Mary Anderson and Kathleen Cloud.
[12] The framework was elaborated by the Harvard Institute for International Development in collaboration with the WID office of USAID, and was first described in 1984 by Catherine Overholt and others.