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Making Governance Gender-Responsive

Homenet SEA participants to the Gender and Governance Workshop  held at the Christian Student Center,  Bangkok, Thailand on 24 October 2005.

Twenty-one participants from Thailand, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines joined the Gender and Governance Workshop held on 24 October 2005 at the Student Christian Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Primar Jardeleza and Olive Parilla (PATAMABA-Philippines) served as resource persons.

The workshop aimed to 1) identify gender problems and issues in informal work (in their respective communities); 2) explain the elements of an effective Gender and Development (GAD) Plan and Budget for their organizations and communities; and 3) identify steps towards making their organizations more gender-sensitive and eventually, towards formulating a Gender-Responsive Plan for 2006.

The opening ceremonies got everyone involved with the "Paper Folding" exercise where each participant was asked to explain the meaning of her/his creation. From the participants' creative minds, various persuasions and symbolic meanings surfaced.

The 15 minute showing of "The Impossible Dream" was the take off point for identifying gender problems, issues, and manifestations of gender bias in society and in informal work. Dividing participants into country groups, their presentations revealed some commonalities: within the family, women assumed their traditional reproductive roles; in the community, women surprisingly, had time for organizational activities, despite their numerous tasks within the home; but women have more problems, because of the multiple roles that they assume.

The discussion on Why Gender Matters in Governance emphasized that good governance can only be attained if gender biases are addressed and eliminated. In gender-responsive governance, there exists: equality among women and men (access to resources, participation in decision making, sharing of benefits); respect for human rights; empowerment of women; and a transformative agenda. Its attainment, through the preparation of a GAD Plan and the GAD Budget, can be a potent advocacy tool and has its implications for social equity (how the pie is sliced and shared). The GAD Plan and Budget, translate political commitments and goals into reality, and reflect the government' s social and economic priorities at various levels.

Workshop Results

Armed with the knowledge that planning and budgeting are political openings to empowerment, each country grouping prepared a plan of action towards greater gender-responsiveness.

Thailand

• Identified problems/issues on: Violence against women (VAW) ; lack of gender awareness at the enterprise level
• Plan to include the following activities: Training and awareness- raising on VAW issues; Gender Sensitivity Training (GST) targeting leaders, officials, and trainers; awareness-raising on gender at the enterprise level; update on law concerning women’s issues; advocacy on law on the surname of women; and updating of homeworkers on gender-related developments.

Indonesia

• Identified problems/issues: Presidential Instruction on gender equality (way back in 1996), and regulatory direction to allocate 5 to 10 % of the budget to gender mainstreaming in local government have not been implemented due to lack of political will; Indonesia’s development paradigm is not women-focused; hence, women are always negotiating, yet, their contributions are considered to be so little; lack of transparency in transactions, specially in the government
• Plan to include the following activities: Gender awareness training (for homeworkers’ husbands and government officials); gender-sensitivity training for members; capability building on how to develop a gender responsive plan; awareness-raising and training on occupational health and safety standards where the targets are children, youth, homeworkers’ husbands; and participation of government officials and other stakeholders to make them aware of the needs of beneficiaries.

Lao P.D.R.

• Identified problems: Women are victims of violence; Economically, women are dependent on their husbands; As migrant laborers, women receive unfair wages (gender bias)
• Plan to include the following activities: Training of Lao women on women’s rights; training on occupational skills (suggested budget: USD 2000 for the training of 20 women X 7 days); conduct of gender training for both sexes, with the objective of training second line leaders as well.

PATAMABA - Philippines

• Identified problems: Lack of gender awareness and understanding regarding gender-responsive governance, especially at the local level
• Plan of activities: Advocacy directed at local government units in at least 20 municipalities; holding of GAD training seminar targeting local chapters of PATAMABA, NGOs, LGUs and other stakeholders in these municipalities (budget estimate: P400,000)