PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINAR FOR ELECTED WOMEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS Strengthening Women s Leadership in Local Government for Effective Decentralized Governance and Poverty Reduction in Africa: Roles, Challenges and Strategies Yaoundé, 26-27 May 2008 Leadership Capacity Development Needs and Strategies Approaches for Enhancing Collaboration and Exchange for Strengthening Women s Leadership in Local Government Sylvia Hordosch Division for the Advancement of Women Department of Economic and Social Affairs I am very pleased to be here today. The Division for the Advancement of Women is part of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It advocates for the improvement of the status of women worldwide and the achievement of equality between women and men on the basis of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Today, I will talk about the international framework on women, power and decisionmaking, provide some examples of women s experiences at the local level of government and discuss strategies for strengthening women s leadership. Over the past three decades, significant commitments to women s participation in decision-making have been made at the international level. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the international bill of rights of women, dedicated one of its articles to women s role in public life and calls upon States Parties to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country. The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) recognizes defined two strategic objectives in the area of women in power and decision-making: to ensure women s equal access to and full participation in power structures and to increase women s capacity to participate in decision-making. The Platform highlighted the importance of gender balance in governmental bodies and in public administration and it underlined the equal rights of women and men to engage in political activities and to freedom of association. Neither of these goals has been fulfilled: women continue to be underrepresented in political life and they often face enormous obstacles, including harassment and violence, when they become politically active. The Commission on the Status of Women, the main intergovernmental body dealing with the promotion of gender equality at the international level, has repeatedly called on 1
strengthening the role of women in decision-making processes. In its session in 2006, 1 Member States recognized the importance of incorporating gender perspectives into all local and national processes related to national development strategies. The Commission also encouraged close cooperation between central authorities and local governments to develop programmes aimed at creating equal opportunities for women and girls. A number of regional commitments relate to women s political participation. These include the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003); and the African Union s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004). The Governments of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) committed themselves to have women occupy at least 30 percent of the positions in political and decision-making structures by the year 2005, and 50 per cent by 2015. Why is women s participation in decision-making important at local and at national levels? First of all, it is an issue of human rights. Women have the right to participate in all decision-making processes. Full participation means full citizenship. Second, it is critical that women s views and experiences are represented in decision-making bodies to ensure that the interests of women are taken into consideration in policy-making and implementation of projects related to economic development and poverty alleviation. There is also the critical mass argument women become more visible and influential when they achieve a certain number of positions. Women are more likely to enter and remain in political life if they have role models in the arena. The democracy argument tells us that the equal representation of women and men enhances democratization of governance. The lack of women, on the hand, undermines democracy. Of course, the presence of women in local government does not necessarily mean that women s issues are addressed. By the same token, achieving equality between women and men is not just the responsibility of women, but requires also male leaders who advocate for equality. Women at the local level In 1998, the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) launched the Worldwide Declaration on Women in Local Government as the result of a global consultation process among the members of the Union. The Declaration recognized that local government is the level of government closest to the citizens and therefore in the best position to involve women as decision-makers, planners and managers. It also noted that women have the right to equal access to the services of local governments, to be treated equally in these services and to be able to influence their development and management. 1 Agreed conclusions on the equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes 2
Some assume that local government provides the easiest entry point form women because it is closest to where they live, where they know the community and its norms. But the local level can also be the area where stereotypes about women s roles remain the strongest. Decentralization processes can create space for greater transparency and accountability at the local level. Participation will not come automatically. Decentralization may simply involve transfer of power and resources from male-dominated elite at national/regional level to a similar elite at local level. For decentralization to work for women, and to provide the services they need and support poverty reduction programmes, women need to be able to participate in local governance processes as candidates, as elected officials, as employees of the government and as citizens in order to take advantage of all opportunities for decision-making in budget processes, strategic planning, gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation of how services are provided and the provision of complaints mechanisms. Despite progress, the most obvious trend has been ongoing low representation of women in political and public life. Currently 11 women are heads of state or government in all the regions of the world and this number represents basically no progress since 2000. At the parliamentary level, we have made more progress: in 1995, women accounted for 11.6 per cent of members of national parliaments globally. In sub-saharan Africa the rate is 17.3 per cent. As of January 2008, the global average has increased to 17.9 per cent, with Rwanda being on top of the list, followed by Sweden, Finland, and Argentina. Insufficient data are available on the representation of women at local levels. The organization United Cities and Local Governments provides limited data for 2005: based on data from 60 countries of all regions, women were 9 per cent of all mayors and nearly 21 per cent of councilors. In 2006, women in Rwanda won 33.3 per cent of all mayor posts in local elections and 66.6 per cent in the capital of Kigali which makes Rwanda a country with very strong political representation of women. Mechanisms for increasing women s participation and leadership Political parties play an important role for women to be elected. They can be gatekeepers and prevent women s access to elected positions, or they can open avenues for women with transparent and open processes for the selection of candidates or other positions within the party. In addition, political parties can provide support, such as funding for the election campaign, providing access to networks, training and skills development for women candidates. While the type of electoral system remains critical for women s access to politics, the most influential factor is whether or not a quota system is used. In 2006, countries that 3
used gender quotas nearly doubled the number of elected women, compared with countries without any form of gender quota. In India, a 1993 constitutional amendment strengthened local governance by including a measure to reserve one third of seats in panchayats (local governing councils) for women. Recent data show that most states have at least 33 per cent women as a direct consequence of the reservation, with some states exceeding quota. A number of African countries have adopted quota, either legislative quota or voluntary quota by political parties. For example, in Uganda the 1995 Constitution states that one third of the membership of each local government council shall be reserved for women. Mauritania has a system that guarantees women the right to a minimum of 20 per cent of the seats. Political parties that elect more women than required by the quota will get a financial benefit (for municipal as well as national elections). Of course, quotas alone do not work. They require a host of factors, including the development of a democratic political culture, the level of mobilization of women in civil society, and the transparency, capacity building for women voters, candidates and elected officials, and for men to understand the cost of inequality and the benefits of promoting women in public office. Measures to strengthen women s leadership capacity at the local level International and national organizations, including UN agencies, bi-lateral donors, civil society organizations, provide different forms of support to women at the local level. These programmes aim to empower candidates through capacity-building and training on decentralized governance, on the processes and rules, and women s rights. Training programmes should not only target women, but also involve men as stakeholders. For example, in Rwanda, the US based Initiative for Inclusive Security in partnership with the Rwandan Association of Local Government Authorities and the National Women s Council trained potential women candidates in 2006 before the elections were even announced. The training addressed issues such as preparing a plan of action or a campaign platform; how to manage conflicts during rallies; how to do advocacy and work with the media; and budget issues. The training also involved women elected to parliament who served as powerful role models for women at the local level. In Haiti, UNIFEM, the Gender Unit of MINUSTAH, UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, and two local non-governmental organizations are implementing a programme for women to compete in municipal elections. The women participants learn how to strengthen their interaction with constituencies and what it means to be a good leader namely, a person with vision, strength and creativity, who is also a teamleader. An example of collaboration and exchange comes from Asia, where the regional commission of the United Nations, ESCAP, organized the first-ever Asia-Pacific Summit of Women Mayors and Councillors, in 2001. The Summit provided a forum to exchange 4
experiences and to review and discuss issues, strategies, and approaches related to good governance, gender budgeting, and transformative leadership. The Summit called for the provision of country-specific training for newly elected and appointed women. In the second stage, ESCAP assisted in convening national summits of women in local government, which resulted in 2003, in the Philippines, in the establishment of the Lady Local Legislators League which advocates for women s issues in local government. A similar meeting in Pakistan established a national network of district-level resource centres for women councillors to assist them in performing their duties more effectively. In response to the needs identified through the national Summits, the third phase of the project focused on developing the capacities of local government training institutes to undertake training of newly elected and appointed women in local government. The impact of women s equal participation in political processes We must also ask the question on the impact of women in local government. The way in which women can influence political institutions and processes depends on the norms, rules and procedures within local bodies and political parties. It depends on the autonomy of the local government, its actual access to power and resources. The success of women and men with a clear gender equality agenda depends on the support of their own parties, their linkages to a women s constituency and other institutions. Women as citizens need to be educated about good governance in order to make their governments accountable at all levels. The experience from India has shown that women councillors have had a concrete impact on policy decisions related to local development in terms of infrastructure, housing, schools, and health. Several studies found that women councillors invested more in goods directly relevant to the expressed priorities of women, particularly in drinking water infrastructure, schools, day-care centers and health. In India, women as heads of panchayats were also found to be more sensitive to women s needs and more supportive of the implementation of programmes benefiting women. Their presence has also made women citizens more likely to take advantage of state services and demand their rights. Some experience from projects to promote the inclusion of gender perspectives in local budgets has shown how women can be considerably empowered in these processes in the case of fiscal autonomy. "Budget literacy" - basic understanding of what a budget is, how it is developed, what limits there are on the power of elected officials, and what rights citizens have in relation to resource allocations and budget processes - can lead women to make new and unprecedented demands for information and accountability. Conclusions There is general agreement that one size does not fit all local governments. Strategies to strengthen women s leadership and their capacity will have to differ according to individual country contexts, according to each country s political, economic, social and cultural context. An effective enabling environment for women is critical to strengthen the democratization and the decentralization processes: this means legislation on equal 5
opportunities and non-discrimination, access to resources such as land, credit, education and health care. Measures to combat all forms of violence against women are necessary for women s full participation in the political sphere. The media local radio stations, television, newspapers can be both a significant barrier to women s leadership, but they can also play a positive role if they avoid stereotypical and degrading images of women; and report on women s political success. For elected women leaders to be successful at the local level, they must forge strong links with their constituents and prioritize women s issues, including the promotion and protection of women s rights and the economic and social empowerment of women. Strong alliances with community-based and women s organizations will strengthen their understanding of the needs of their communities and help setting priorities. At the same time, these organizations will play an important role in holding elected officials accountable. Networking and mentoring by women leaders for other women in particular those aspiring to leadership positions are effective support mechanisms. Likewise women and women s networks need to expand their engagement to develop partnerships with women and men in different local institutions, in parliament and central government, political parties, business, trade unions, civil society, and the media. To prepare women for leadership positions and decentralized governance, they must be given appropriate leadership education and specialized skills training, including on policy development, strategic planning, and public speaking and leveraging resources. The mere presence of women as executives in any area of societal development is not in itself a guarantee that gender equality issues will be placed on the agenda. More progress will also require greater willingness among men to question male stereotypes and to change existing structures and processes, including redefining the roles of men and women in the family and in public life. Women leaders need therefore to develop strategic alliances with men who are willing to actively support women s participation and gender equality. Development partners, international organizations, and donors wield enormous power in many African countries. They can provide funds and programmes to train and mobilize women voters; train potential women candidates before elections; support the monitoring of the performance of elected officials on gender equality policy priorities; and develop databases of women professionals, technical experts, and elected women officials. Progress for women is progress for all has become a frequently used slogan. Local government is a good place to illustrate and test - what this means for elected women and their constituencies. 6