Governance and Gender

Women and men often have different needs and interests in many areas of governance, and their experiences with institutions vary. It is therefore important to take gender issues into account when assessing governance. However, most governance methodologies are gender-blind, and most data on governance cannot be disaggregated for gender.

To capture different situations and experiences of women and men, indicators need to be constructed in a gender-sensitive, participatory manner to incorporate perspectives of both women and men. This includes indicator definition, data collection and analysis. 

Mainstream governance literature largely focuses on the need for more women in politics and decision making, especially in government. For example, the UNDP Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) evaluates progress in women’s access to political power structures and economic resources.

At the same time, a need exists to include a gender "lens" when looking at governance in other sectors, such as justice and service delivery. Governance and gender also is critical for achivement of the Millennium Development Goals, since women represent the majority of the poor.