Sociology Theses and Dissertations

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Women’s Empowerment through Polio Eradication: Agency and Representation of Lady Health Workers in Pakistan
(University of Oregon, 2022-02-18) Ahmed, Sarah; Dreiling, Michael
Pakistan remains one of the two countries wherein Polio remains endemic. Central to the Polio Eradication project, led by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), are female community health workers. These women--who call themselves Lady Health Workers (LHWs)— deliver Polio vaccines door-to-door in their communities. This dissertation examines how the gendered labor of LHWs speaks to broader intersections of gender, development and global health. How does gendered work, necessary to polio eradication, affect local norms and representations within the healthcare industry? How does women’s agency manifest when realized by a woman working in the polio eradication initiative as an LHW? In asking these questions, my dissertation traces the development and constructions of gender identity and norms for women on the ground. My analysis is informed by five years of follow up interviews, yielding theoretical contributions that depict tensions between gendered expectations and women’s agency over time.