Women’s Leadership Motivations and State-Sponsored Empowerment: The Case of Moroccan Associative Leaders

Abstract

This dissertation examines the impact of participatory development programs promoted by theInternational development banks and International NGOs (INGOs) on gender equality in Morocco. Looking at a country case study of Morocco, my research explains the motivations of women leaders who participate in development programs either as elected political representatives of their communities or as leaders of local associations/Moroccan NGOs. Through a study of official publications and interviews with women leaders, this dissertation shows how Moroccan women leaders navigate between altruistic, professional, and personal goals. Contrary to what previous studies suggest, the women leaders I interviewed exhibited much more agency as participants in different INGO and state-sponsored women’s empowerment programs. These Moroccan women leaders demonstrated self-conscious and concerted efforts to use their positions in INGO and state-sponsored programs to advance the goals of their communities, coopting corrupt male politicians in this process. Although the women leaders I interviewed cared about supporting women and advancing gender equity, their main motivations centered on broader questions of poverty in their communities. This dissertation shows that these women associative leaders constitute a bridge between the progressive feminist left and the conservative Islamist women groups. But given their community, professional, and personal intensions they tend to be pragmatic in their approach. That is, they use practical reasoning to deduce the right action and they reject ideology as a guide. In this regard, they would agree with Paul Collier who wrote, “in real communities the relative importance of values evolves” (Paul Collier, 2018). Between their interest in non-domination and gender equality, and community development, and their professional obligations, they constantly ask ‘What, here and now, is most likely to work?’ As their work and their livelihoods occur in communities that are dealing with systemic poverty, the women associative and NGO leaders might “have to join the political parties that do not have gender justice in mind,” and/or are dominated by men and a culture where “all decisions are made by men at nights in the cafes.” Therefore, this group of women leaders has to constantly satisfy multiple obligations. By trying to satisfy all these obligations, these women NGO leaders, like their counterparts in Northern ‘funding’ agencies, ‘want to do good, and do it right’ (Sarah de Jong, 2018). Their work is necessary, and in many instances, positive for the goals of gender equality.