Gender and governance

1.1Why focus on gender¹ and governance?

Changes in governance approaches over the past few decades – with their emphasis on decentralised, democratised processes and principles of accountability, responsiveness, inclusiveness, equity and upholding the rule of law – have great potential to enable social transformation. But despite this potential and some progress in terms of electing more women to decision-making positions in some countries, most governance institutions are failing to deliver sufficiently on gender equality and women’s rights and to challenge their own discriminatory practices. In some cases, they are creating further inequalities. For example, trade liberalisation policies led by the World Trade Organization (WTO) may have led to more employment for some women in developing countries, but these women are often denied their labour rights. In many countries there is still a failure to recognise rape within marriage as a crime – meaning that perpetrators cannot be called to account. International frameworks exist to challenge these gender inequalities – in the form of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights instruments but signatory countries are not putting their commitments into practice, and others are failing to ratify the relevant conventions.

Actively involving women in defining policies and processes at global, national and local levels, and in shaping the institutions that produce them, means they are likely to respond to the different needs and situations of both women and men, and contribute to gender equality. These changes should in turn result in more gender-sensitive governance. Gender-sensitive governance is also a significant means to broader social transformation because of the extent to which governance institutions help to shape perceptions of the roles men and women should play in society. Finally, women’s equal participation in governance is an important end in itself – it is quite simply a basic right for women who are so often deprived of a voice in decision-making at all levels.

1.1.1Governance – its levels and its institutions

These governance institutions are becoming more and more interlinked. Decisions made at a global level increasingly influence our lives – whether they are about human rights, security, the economy, trade, or the environment. They are filtered through government policy at national and local levels, consumed through measures that affect us directly; for example, a large percentage of small-scale farmers are women, and they have been facing the consequences of the rise in global prices of seeds and fertiliser and the falling prices of their goods in the face of competition from cheaper imported goods. At the same time, individuals, communities and CSOs are reacting to policies and practices of governance at national and global levels – they are defining their needs, demanding to be heard and influencing how policy is made and implemented, using strategies such as lobbying at international fora, direct action, and internet tools such as web-based ‘blogs’.