Gendered Roles and Policy: Governance Implications

Good governance and gender equality have been at the cutting edge of development debates over the last decade. Empirical evidence shows that both are central to development. This gap between de jure and de facto equality has sharpened the focus on women access to, and participation in, structures and processes of governance. It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute a `critical mass of at least one third of those in decision making, their mere presence makes little difference to the outcomes of governance. The mere presence of women in structures of governance justifiable in its own right in equity terms does not guarantee that gender considerations are mainstreamed in laws, policies and programmes.

Understanding of gender issues in governance, therefore, requires looking at participation and decision making of women and men in the different institutions. Therefore, addressing gender gaps in governance would entail what is the meaning of engendering different institutions and at what levels, for good governance to take place.