Beijing, and Dakar, and lack the more complex and nuanced understandings of these issues established at those conferences (Unterhalter, 2007).
             The third MDG specifically aims to "promote gender equality and empower women" (United Nations, 2010c), primarily through gender parity in education.2 However, both the rhetoric and implementation of MDG 3 demonstrate particular understandings of gender equality and women's empowerment that have come under criticism for being far too narrow. The authors, supporters, and critics of MDG 3 all draw from various theoretical frameworks and perspectives concerning these concepts. MDG 3 is commonly understood as being primarily grounded in an approach known as Women in Development (WID) (Colclough, 2008; Mannathoko, 2008), whereas alternative frameworks include Gender and Development (GAD), Postmodernism and Development (PAD), and human development (specifically, the capability approach). Given this information, I have developed the following research questions to guide my literature review: What are the limitations and common criticisms of the WID approach and MDG 3? How might MDG 3 and its implementation incorporate other theoretical frameworks or perspectives to create a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of gender equality and women's empowerment and of the role education and development play in working toward these goals?
             In this literature review, I identify and synthesize aspects in each of the above mentioned frameworks that could contribute to the construction of a more holistic and nuanced approach to the role of development and education in gender equality and women's empowerment. In order to do so, I primarily draw from the following three interdisciplinary bodies of literature: feminist development theory, human development theory, and gender education and development studies. I draw from feminist development theory to explicate each of the...