The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in collaboration with the Government of Mexico and UNDP Mexico, is pleased to announce the International Conference on Decentralization, local power and women’s rights: Global trends in participation, representation and access to public services.

 

The conference will be held on November 18-21, 2008 in Mexico City.

 

This international conference will explore the impact of decentralization policies and women’s participation in local government on women’s rights and access to public services. In the Global South, decentralization has become a widespread development strategy, and is transforming the structure of governance. Decentralization policies have been often presented as strengthening democracy and citizen participation, particularly among those who have been marginalized from government decision-making. Decentralized/ local governance has been espoused as a means of not only promoting democratic governance, but also the more equitable sharing of economic opportunities and responsibilities.

 

"From such arguments, it is often swiftly imputed that the global trend towards the decentralization of public decision-making, resource allocation and service delivery is also good for women."[1] Given the current context in which many countries worldwide have adopted decentralization, investigating the gendered dimensions of such processes becomes critical.