what is the role of women in the local government
Answers
Women’s political and socio-economic status improves when women become more involved in decision making and policy development at all levels of governance. Through their active involvement in community work and women’s movements, local women politicians are fully aware of issues faced by women in their communities and are uniquely positioned to address them. The role of women in decision making has been addressed by various international agreements and conventions, CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), to name a few.
Women play a very vital role in human progress and have a significant place in the society. Some think women are inferior to men but they are not. They are capable of sharing all the responsibilities of life. The main responsibility of a woman is to preserve the human race. Some think woman’sposition as a mother is unique. The progress of the nation depends upon the way the mothers bring up their children. If mothers are educated, the whole society will progress. Women have always played an important role in the progress of a nation. Women had been great saints, scholars, poets, writers, reformers and administrators. Women should be given proper education, training and power. Women can do much to reform society. They are serving as teachers, doctors, engineers, administrators and even heads of state. The need is to increase this ratio. More participation among the women means more progress of the society and is a measure of equality.
According to a UN Report ‘The World’s Women 2015’, approximately only a quarter of positions in national governments are held by women. In Canada’s Parliament today, only 26% of the House of Commons is female. This just proves the under representation of women in our policy making. The ideal of equal participation in decision-making is that all human beings have the right to participate in decisions that affect their life. Issues in terms of healthcare, labour, business, industry, education, childcare, and training affect each gender differently. For example, having men make policy on reproductive rights for females, while not understanding a woman’s anatomy and women’s issues, is completely absurd. Since women know their issues best, it’s important that they have an equal say to be effectively incorporated into all levels of decision-making. Furthermore, based on the same report, women across all sectors and occupations still earn less than men in most countries.