THE INVOLVEMENT OF WOMEN AND MEN IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURES: GENDER AND GOVERNANCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53273/yqekw674Abstract
Women are underrepresented not only in the political sphere but also in decision-making within the private sector, at the village level and in civil society. At the local level, men usually dominate positions of power, including as religious and traditional leaders, local politicians and village elders. Women’s representation and leadership tend to be confined to areas that are traditionally ‘feminine’ such as social welfare. Women’s representation in informal decision-making processes is often more common than their representation in formal positions and structures, but it tends to be hidden and therefore not as highly valued as it should be in order to deepen democracy at the local, national and international level, it is important to ensure that women and men are able to participate on equal terms in both formal and informal decision-making structures. Poor levels of participation and representation in decision-making bodies is exacerbated, for both men and women, by intersecting discriminations relating to ethnic group, socioeconomic status, religion, disability and sexual orientation.
Keywords:
Gender and Governance, Democracy, Good Governance, Gender EqualityReferences
Budlender, D. (2002). ‘Gender Budgets: What’s in it for NGOs?’, Gender and Development, vol. 10, no.
3, pp. 82-87.
Barnett, K. and Grown, C. (2004). ‘Gender Impacts of Government Revenue Collection: The Case of
Taxation’, Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
Elson, D. (2006). ‘Budgeting for Women's Rights: Monitoring Government Budgets for Compliance
with CEDAW’, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), New York.
Holvoet, N. (2006). ‘Gender Budgeting: Its Usefulness in Programme-based Approaches to Aid’, EC
Gender Help Desk, European Commission, Brussels.
Budlender, D. (2009). Ten-Country Overview Report. Integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into
the Aid Effectiveness Agenda. UNIFEM.
Nazneen, S. and Sultan, M. (2010). ‘Reciprocity, Distancing, and Opportunistic Overtures: Women's
Organisations Negotiating Legitimacy and Space in Bangladesh’, IDS Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 70 – 78.
Howell, J. (2007). ‘Gender and Civil Society: Time for Cross-Border Dialogue’ in Social Politics:
International Studies in Gender, State and Society, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 415-436.
Horn, J. (2013). Gender and Social Movements: Overview report. BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack. Brighton:
IDS.
Hoare, J. and Gell, F. (eds). (2009). ‘Women's Leadership and Participation: Case studies on learning
for action’, Oxfam, Rugby.
UNIFEM. (2008). 'Chapter 1: Who Answers to Women?', in Progress of the World’s Women 2008/9:
Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability’, UNIFEM, New York .
Ballington, J. et al. (2011). ‘Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide
to Promote Women’s Political Participation’, United Nations Development Programme and National Democratic Institute.
Tadros, M. (2011). ‘Women Engaging Politically: Beyond Magic Bullets and Motorways’, Pathways
Policy Paper, Pathways of Women’s Empowerment RPC, Brighton.
Krook, M. L. and Norris, P. (2014), Beyond Quotas: Strategies to Promote Gender Equality in Elected
Office. Political Studies, 62: 2–20.
Clots-Figueras, I. (2019). ‘Are Female Leaders Good for Education? Evidence from India’ Working Paper
07-73, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Beaman, L. et al. (2019). ‘Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias’, The Quarterly Journal of
Economics, vol. 124, no. 4, pp. 1497-1540.
Waring, M. (2011). ‘Women in Politics and Aid Effectiveness: an Aid to Evaluation of MDG3’, A think
piece commissioned by AusAID’s Office of Development Effectiveness.
Huffer, E. (2006). ‘Chapter 1: Desk Review of the Factors Which Enable and Constrain the
Advancement of Women’s Political Representation in Forum Island Countries’ in Pacific Islands Forum.
Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU). (2008). ‘Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in
Parliaments’, Reports and Documents No. 24, IPU, Geneva.
Alam et al., 2025. (2025). Online Corrective Feedback and Self-Regulated Writing: Exploring Student
Perceptions and Challenges in Higher Education. 15(06), 139–150. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v15n6p139
Hossen, M. S., & Pauzi, H. M. (2025a). Bibliometric Analysis of Social Support for the Older Adults. Ageing
International, 50(1), 1–24.
Hossen, M. S., & Pauzi, H. M. (2025b). Synthesis of Psychological Wellbeing of the Elderly Individuals
Literature Using Bibliometric Analysis. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 33(3).
Mohd Pauzi, H., & Shahadat Hossen, M. (2025). Comprehensive bibliometric integration of formal social support
literature for elderly individuals. Housing, Care and Support, 1–17.
Rashed, M., Jamadar, Y., Hossen, M. S., Islam, M. F., Thakur, O. A., & Uddin, M. K. (2025). Sustainability
catalysts and green growth: Triangulating evidence from EU countries using panel data, MMQR, and CCEMG. Green Technologies and Sustainability, 100305.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Content Validation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
