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instance, in a report to the CEDAW Committee in 2009, the government of Papua New Guinea identified the lack of structures for promoting gender equality as a challenge to carrying out the tasks outlined in international commitments. Similarly, the Lao PDR National Strategy for the Advancement of Women in 2006 and Vietnam National Strategy for the Advancement of Women in 2010 cited low capacity of their national institutions as a problem, and asked for help to strengthen those institutions—through training and more resources—to make them more effective. To address the constraints in institutional capacity, countries such as the P hilippines and Vietnam worked on improving their institutional structures and reinforcing mandates already in place to promote women’s agency and subsequently promote gender equality (box 4.2). Several countries use a dvocacy organizations that are part of government to proactively address women’s issues. The Lao Women’s Union and the Vietnam Women’s Union are two examples of organizations formed to promote information sharing among women, educate women at all levels of society, and promote women’s active
participation in society. They mobilize women to be active participants in their community (and in political party–related activities) and work to protect women’s rights and interests.
Collective agency: Women’s organizations and the space for civic action Civil society functions both as an indicator of voice and participation and as a lever to create the conditions that enable women to change the legal environment, public priorities, and social norms. It also can facilitate dialogue and cooperation between parties that can influence the other determinants of agency. Collective agency through civil society does not necessarily need to focus on women-specific issues, but instead, it provides a forum in which men and women can exercise voice on any issues they care about. Civil society organizations, social movements, and civic activists have helped expand women’s agency by magnifying their voice in public forums and strengthening women’s influence. Having a collective voice, through mass movements, is critical
BOX 4.2 Strengthening state mechanisms for gender equality Gender equality laws in the region also focus on the improvement of existing gender equality structures. The Philippine Magna Carta for Women, for example, strengthened the mandate of the Philippine Commission on Women as the primary policymaking and coordinating body on women and g ender equality concerns, and emphasized the placement of qualified women in all government departments and their attached agencies. These measures include bringing local government units, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and other government instrumentalities into discussions of how best to ensure a gender balance in their workforce. The Magna Carta for Women strengthened the gender and development focal points by increasing resources and support. The government will evaluate the increased allocation based on the law’s influence in
making 95 percent of the budget gender-responsive. The law will be subject to an annual audit by the Commission on Audit. Vietnam’s Law on Gender Equality emphasized state responsibility to promote gender equality by identifying a state management agency to unify efforts by all of the government’s gender equality entities as well as responsibilities of agencies to mainstream gender in their work. Moreover, Articles 20–22 of the law outline a process for integrating gender into legislation. A designated National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, together with other parliamentary committees, shall verify the integration of gender equality issues in the draft law and ordinances by drafting agencies. Source: UNDP 2010.