'Gender in development' discourses are used to justify interventions into, or opposition to, projects
and policies; they may also influence perceptions, practices, or key decisions. Four discursive threads are globally
prominent: livelihoods and poverty; natural resources and the environment; rights-based; and managerial. Civil
society organisations (CSOs) have been vocal in raising awareness about the adverse impacts of large-scale
hydropower developments on the environment, on local livelihoods, and on vulnerable groups including women.
This discourse analysis first examines how CSOs engaging in hydropower processes in the Mekong Region frame
and use gender in development discourses, and then evaluates the potential of these discourses to empower both
women and men. Documents authored by CSOs are examined in detail for how gender is represented, as are
media reports on CSO activities, interview transcripts, and images. The findings underline how CSOs depend on
discursive legitimacy for influence. Their discursive strategies depend on three factors: the organizations’ goals
with respect to development, gender, and the environment; whether the situation is pre- or post-construction;
and, on their relationships with the state, project developers and dam-affected communities. The implications of
these strategies for empowerment are often not straightforward; inadvertent and indirect effects, positive and
negative, are common. The findings of this study are of practical value to CSOs wishing to be more reflexive in
their work and more responsive to how it is talked about, as it shows the ways that language and images may
enhance or inadvertently work against efforts to empower women
