An account of the author's experience with Animation Féminine programmes in Niger, and how the concept of integration was applied and developed. It is argued that an imperfect understanding of household and gender relations obscured both women's subordinate position and their real needs. Inputs designed for women were often simply taken over by men, while the notion that the benefits of development could be redistributed through participation in the market ignored the fact that the bulk of women's labour was already committed to unpaid household production.