Gender Equality in Local Contexts: Discussions at the 2024 Local Democracy Academy
By: Romina Rodela, Södertörn Universtiy, Sweden
Recently, I had the opportunity to join the Local Democracy Academy 2024 in Lund, which this year focused on “Research and Practice for Empowering Local Democracy: From Local Initiatives to Global Transformations” and was organized by the International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD). The Local Democracy Academy is an intensive program that engages a selected group of researchers, public officers, and professionals in hands-on sessions, knowledge sharing, and critical thinking over several consecutive days. The program focuses specifically on the challenges facing democracy today, with a special emphasis on municipalities and the issues they face.
In this occasion, along with other researchers I was invited to join their Working Group on Gender Equality led by two generous coordinators -namely Prof. Winnie Mitullah, Director of Gender Affairs at the University of Nairobi, and Dr. Ana Maria Vargas, Director of Studies at the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University. This thematic group had the task of discussing the role local governments play in promoting gender equality. The group hosted presentations of research done by four group members and talked about gender quotas, inequality and ethics of care at local level.
One of the highlights of this week was the assignment to meet (digitally) with councillors from Panajachel in Guatemala and Åre in Sweden to unpack challenges with women and youth participation in local politics. The representative from Panajachel in Guatemala opened the floor with an important and pressing question for this municipality: “How can the Municipality motivate and open spaces for women and young people to participate in political processes and occupy decision-making positions through sustainable projects?” This question is rooted in a major challenge: in Panajachel, as in many other places, women and young people face substantial barriers in accessing political processes and have become disillusioned with political and social organizations due to low credibility and perceived inefficacy. We learned how in Panajachel the representation of women in politics is very low with only one woman on the Municipal Council, who holds an alternate position. The municipality is aware of the need to reverse this trend and is seeking ways to improve the situation and engage these groups in the political process.
To add depth to the discussion, the Municipality of Åre in Sweden was invited to join to our (digital) session. Åre has a strong track record in working with citizens, particularly women, and is also a Sami administrative municipality. The Sami are a recognized minority and indigenous group in Sweden, and municipalities have a responsibility to advance their rights and promote their language and culture. Similarly, Panajachel is seeking to improve political participation among indigenous groups while respecting their cultural traditions.
The exchange between our working group and these two municipalities aimed to set the stage for reflecting on and considering practical, contextually relevant interventions to address the current situation and enhance the participation of youth and women. It’s not an easy task, and there are no simple answers.
As part of this 4th Local Democracy Academy, we also had the opportunity to hear about research on democratic representation across various panels. For instance, during the panel discussion on “Hope and Local Democracy in Times of Crisis — Local Governments as Architects of Global Transformation,” we learned from Carola Gunnarsson, Vice President of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, more about the challenges women in politics face and how, according to some estimations, it will take a staggering 130 years to close the gender gap. Marina Nord’s presentation on research conducted at V-Dem highlighted the concerning trends in the rise autocratization. In their recent report, they note how: “The world is currently experiencing a wave of autocratization characterized by increasing executive power, erosion of democratic norms, and a general tendency toward less freedom. One-third of the world’s population — 2.6 billion people — now lives in countries undergoing autocratization”. We also learned how this third wave of autocratic emergence differs from previous ones and how autocratic leaders are good at exploiting negative sentiments, dissatisfaction, and human suffering to gain power. They very often are keen to dismantle democratic institutions at the local level.
A key characteristic of autocratic regimes is how quickly they move in restricting freedoms and curtail the ability to participate in the political and social life of certain groups — including women and girls. It is also relevant to note findings on autocracies supporting gender equality de jure and this mostly to gain consent and gain consent of their agendas. And while gender quotas have increased in electoral autocracies (see: Donno and Kreft, 2018), this trend does not translate into more democracy — a finding that is also supported by the research of our colleague, Marsela Dauti, who presented her work on women’s political representation in the local councils of Albania.
The Gender Equality Working Group is aware of how essential it is to keep pushing for inclusive governance, where every voice — especially those historically marginalized — is heard and valued.
Women constitute only 36% of elected representatives at the local level (UN Women, 2023), a figure that highlights the ongoing challenges in achieving gender parity. While gender equality reforms, such as electoral gender quotas, have reshaped local politics in many countries, there is growing evidence of how such reforms are being co-opted (Bush & Zetterberg, 2023; Valdini, 2019). Also, the rise in violence against women in politics and the persistent backlash against women’s political empowerment are alarming trends. To date, most discussions have centered on the democratic decline and women’s representation at the national level, leaving a gap in understanding how women politicians are faring at the local level. Our working group identified the need to investigate how democratic decline is impacting women’s political representation at the local level, with a particular focus on their ability to deliver essential services to their communities.
As we leave the LDA2024, I look forward to seeing how these insights and collaborations will translate into materials and resources that could support councillors in their work and in their ambitions to expand political participation at the local level. The journey towards gender equality is a long-term commitment to fostering change by challenging barriers preventing women from becoming more engaged, from taking leadership and from asking hard questions.
Last but not least this experience would not have been of the same value without the conversations I held with the group of about 50 partipants and in particular colleagues sharing feedback on the above ideas during our WG sessions Marsela Dauti, Deodatus Patrick Shayo, Clara Rocìo Rodriguez Pico, Ana Maria Vargas, and Winnie Mitullah.
References:
Bush, S. S., Donno, D., & Zetterberg, P. (2023). International rewards for gender equality reforms in autocracies. American Political Science Review, 1–15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423001016
Dauti, Marsela and Geldona Metaj. 2023. Where Do We Go from Here? Enhancing Women’s Political Representation in the Local Councils of Albania. Genero : časopis za feminističku teoriju i studije kulture. — Vol. 27, №1 (2023), p. 33–54. (ISSN 1451–2203).
Donno, D., & Kreft, A.K. (2019). Authoritarian Institutions and Women’s Rights. Comparative Political Studies, 52(5), 720–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414018797954
Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023, UN, (Accessed August 2024 https://bit.ly/gender-snapshot-2023)
UN Women. (2023). Women in politics: 2023. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Women-in-politics-2023-en.pd
Valdini, M. E. (2019). The inclusion calculation: Why men appropriate women’s representation. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190936198.001.0001
Wyndow P., Li J., Mattes E. (2013). Female empowerment as a core driver of democratic development: A dynamic panel model from 1980 to 2005. World Development, 52, 34–54.
