West and Central Africa \ Women in local government
Gender equity is a priority for CLGF members and the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is working towards gender equity and has set a target of a minimum of 30 per cent of women in public life – both in elected leadership positions and administration – including at the local level. A key focus is developing strategies to increase women's participation in decision making.
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Local government 2030: achieving the vision - conference background paper
Background discussion for Commonwealth Local Government Conference 2015. CLGF commissioned two “thinkpieces” Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the role of local democracy and good governance and Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the importance of local government in economic development and cities as engines of economic growth.
Author: Lucy Slack, Bhaskar Chakrabarti, Joydeep Guha, Sue Bannister and Michael Sutcliffe Publisher: CLGF Publication year: 2015
Developmental local government: putting local government at the heart of development
Background discussion paper for the 2013 Commonwealth Local Government Conference, Kampala Research reports. The paper sets the context for developmental local government and reflects on what the term means in respect of the different systems of local government and approaches to local government across the Commonwealth. Chapter 1 looks at the global environment and how global challenges are impacting on governance, service delivery and development at the local level. Chapter 2 looks at how we define developmental local government in the different regions of the Commonwealth. It also sets out a case study on South Africa’s experience of defining developmental local government within a system of cooperative governance, and how it has impacted on development at the local level to date. Chapter 3 focuses on the fundamental enablers for developmental local government: The political framework, Financing local government, Human resource management and capacity, Enabling citizen participation Chapter 4 looks at key priorities for the post 2015 global development agenda and considers the role for local government in a post 2015 context as a key partner in development, providing a voice for local communities and implementing many of the key services essential to reducing poverty. Chapter 5 reflects on practical approaches to developmental local government and looks at different ways in which local government is playing a central role in local development. Chapter 6 reflects on the future and some of the key issues for discussion and debate at the conference
Author: Reneva Fourie Publisher: CLGF Publication year: 2013
Cities through a “gender lens”: a golden “urban age” for women in the global South?
Although urban women generally enjoy some advantages over their rural counterparts, a range of gender inequalities and injustices persist in urban areas that constrain their engagement in the labour market and in informal enterprises and inhibit the development of capabilities among younger women. These include unequal access to decent work, human capital acquisition, financial and physical assets, intra-urban mobility, personal safety and security, and representation in formal structures of urban governance. But the nature of these varies for different groups of women, not only on account of poverty status and where they live in the city, but also according to age, household characteristics, degree of engagement in income-generating activities and so on. This paper reviews what we have learnt from the literature on gender and urban development. It discusses disparities in access to education and vocational training and to land and housing ownership through a “gender lens”. It considers service deficiencies and associated time burdens, which limit income generation among women. Violence and gender, and gender divisions in access to different spaces within the city and in engagement in urban politics, are also covered. These factors cast doubt on whether women’s contributions to the prosperity often associated with urbanization are matched by commensurate returns and benefits.
Author: Sylvia Chant Publisher: Environment and Urbanization Publication year: 2013
Resource guide on decentralisation and local government
This resource guide provides practical guidance for designing, implementing and evaluating decentralisation reforms and local government practices to ensure they are as effective as possible. It also synthesises and presents current debates on the impact of decentralisation and local government on poverty reduction, service delivery and conflict as well as providing links to cutting-edge research and recent case studies.
Author: Zoe Scott and Munawwar Alam Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat Publication year: 2011
