Developing Gender Sensitive Local Services

THIS PRESENTS THE proceedings of a seminar organized by One World Action and the British Council held in June 2000. The seminar sought to examine the service delivery side of gender issues. It was felt that women’s participation in local democracy had already been well explored elsewhere, however issues concerning gender sensitive service delivery was generally lacking in analysis in the broader debate on gender equality. Starting from the point of service delivery means exposing the details of practice, i.e. what is done on the ground and the importance of considering not only the affordability and accessibility but also the appropriateness of service delivery.
The seminar provided a forum from which participants from important stakeholder groups could share information and experiences with an emphasis on practice rather than theory. This report gives information presented by participants from Uganda, Britain, the Philippines, South Africa, El Salvador and Namibia as well as presenting cases from Bangladesh and Chile. The topics covered were: working with or within the local council or administration; access to gender sensitive justice; and strategies for developing gender sensitive service delivery. Case studies and reports from working groups broadened the geographical spread of the debate and end-of day reports gave interesting reactions to the information presented.
Three main strands emerged to contribute to the general debate: who delivers services and how? What is the role of civil society organizations? And how do we envision gender sensitive services? The authors hope that this report will provide information to the European Union and the British government to inform their development cooperation programmes and policies.