Over the past two decades a succession of paradigm shifts has taken place in the Women in Development (WID) movement. Before the UN Decade for Women (1976-85), Western understandings offender within development were largely limited to questions of enhancing the reproductive capabilities of women in developing countries through Mother and Child Health schemes, despite more forward- looking UN resolutions and Commissions. Since the Decade, much has changed; some of the paradigm shifts have been brought about by advances in the quality of data on women\'s socio-economic status in developing nations; others have been engendered by political or strategic considerations. This article begins with a (brief) history of WID and concludes with an examination of some of the practical attempts at \'mainstreaming\'\'gender concerns within development planning, both internationally and within Ireland. The article, based on a paper written for the UNDP\'s Women in Development Division, is an attempt to synthesise and clarify some of the principal issues in this area rather than offer particularly original insights.