Welcome to an Overview Presentation on

IMPROVING PARTICIPATION, REPRESENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

FOR

GENDER-RESPONSIVE URBAN GOVERNANCE

Presented By Rafiqul Islam ADB-BRM
The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Urban Governance: Key Issues

Urban governance is not only about operation and management of basic urban services but also the civic engagement of all citizens, men and women, in all urban planning and investments.
Local governments are key actors to promote inclusive, participatory, transparent and accountable systems. Womens lack of participation or low representation in decision-making processes related to urban services and governance means their needs and priorities are rarely considered in urban planning and investments.

Gender Sensitive Approach to Urban Governance

Increase Womens Participation in

development through economic, social and community-based activities through inclusive planning, advocacy, employment , training Foster Gender Awareness, Competence and Accountability of Institutions and Policymakers in addressing womens needs and priorities Enhance womens Representation and voice in the decision-making process

Ways to Promote Gender-Inclusive Urban Governance (1)

Supporting meaningful engagement of poor women and men in urban infrastructure development and environmental management by identifying community needs and priorities through baseline surveys, consultations and community-based awareness raising campaigns.
Building womens capacity to participate in planning, construction, implementation, O&M, and management of urban infrastructure and services. Promoting womens representation and active participation in local government decision-making structures and leadership in community development.

Ways to Promote Gender-Inclusive Urban Governance (2)

Strengthening the capacity of womens CBOs or NGOs and civil society partners to mobilize women in advocating for their needs and priorities and holding service providers accountable in providing safe, reliable and affordable services. Paying attention to factors that limit poor womens involvement child care, domestic responsibilities, literacy, safety, VAW, time off from livelihood activities, lack of mobility, etc.

Ways to Promote Gender-Inclusive Urban Governance (3)

Fostering Gender Awareness, Competence and Accountability of Institutions and Policymakers to address womens needs and priorities and include women in the decision-making process GESI in Urban Policy Reforms Institutional Gender Strategies Budgetary support/Gender budgeting Central and local level monitoring of service delivery programs with disaggregated data Gender sensitization and capacity building at all levels
E-governance, citizen report cards, social audits

Examples from Performance-based Projects in Urban Sector

Project Implementation: In 2/3 phases, building on lessons learned Clear target of LGI performance Performance monitoring during implementation and evaluation after each phase on achieving GAP and DMF targets Increasing womens participation and representation in urban infrastructure and development in each phase No investment for unsuccessful initiatives