International Conference: Global goals, local focus
Workshop 07 – Piloting new forms of international cooperation
Speaker: Carla Sandoval, Le Monde selon les femmes
Moderator: Pol Despeghel
Rapporteur: Kirsten Vanhooydonck
Le contexte
Dans le cadre international des Objectifs de Développement Durable il y a une attention
particulière au genre et à la position des hommes et des femmes dans la société. Actuellement
les chiffres de participation des femmes dans la vie sociale, politique et économique montrent
une inégalité tenace dans le monde entier. Dans les décisions des politiques on ne prend pas
suffisamment en compte les effets des mesures planifiés sur les femmes et les hommes. Dans
une perspective de développement durable l’égalité entre les deux sexes est une condition
essentielle. Les autorités locales peuvent agir dans ce domaine en donnant le bon exemple
dans leur politique de personnel, dans la prise des décisions politiques, dans la planification
spatiale et urbaine, dans l’éducation, etc.
Report
During the presentation Mrs. Sandoval remarks that the key note speakers (of the
opening session of the conference) used another meaning of the 5th P of sustainability.
Mr. Delbeke (Belgium) used ‘profit’. Mrs. Krieger (South-Africa) used ‘prosperity’, which
indicates also the difference between north & south, man and woman.
Mrs. Sandoval is critical of the SDG's, especially on the gender issue. There is not
enough focus on violence against women and the redistribution of the wealth. The 5th
SDG focusses on gender. This is good, but it would have been better when gender was
transversally integrated in all the other SDG’s.
Gender budgeting is the local budget that takes the needs of men and women into
account (e.g. toilets for women, but also ramps for disabled people). It is a concrete
measure that can be taken in a local context.
To finish, Mrs. Sandoval showed 2 videos (included in the powerpoint).
Q&A
Reaction 1 (Peru): The Gender-topic is very sensitive in Peru. The process only started, but it is
really important to talk about it, especially in governance. Only 20% of candidates are women.
The attitude towards women needs to change. This term of the local authority of San Jeronimo,
we decided to work on the gender issue in training and in technical and professional
employment. There are more women taking up jobs in the areas for which they received a
training. It asks for a change in mentality. We want women that are elected to be community
presidents. Progress is very slow. The awareness raising on gender is our responsibility. We
have to look at Europe for inspiration.
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 Mrs. Sandoval: We started working on the gender issue in Europe after the Second
World War. 60 years later we are not there yet, so it is a time consuming process. Of
course there is a legal framework that helps to stand up when something is going on.
Today many women groups need to have a good backlash. Many male voices try to
defend masculinity even though we know how damaging this is for gender equality. In
Latin America there are many women groups and organizations working on gender
equality. This doesn’t exist that much in Africa. We need political awareness.
We need to start the change in the educational system. In Europe it starts in
kindergartens. We have to vigilant that they don't pass on the gender stereotypes.
Reaction 2: I want to thank you for the presentation. The political will is very
important. The symbols representing women and men need to be changed. The
symbol of a woman is a zero, with an arrow going down. This can be interpreted like
a negative thing. The man’s symbol has an arrow facing upward.
 Mrs. Sandoval: I will think about the symbols and reflect upon it in with my colleagues.
In my country, there is cultural pressure. When the boys come home from school, they
go outside and play. Whilst the girls need to help in the households.
Reaction 3: In Senegal 48% of the council members are women. Before, women didn't take part
in the political parties, but civil society groups thought more women should be in the council. In
local councils, only 35% are women. We need all women to work together, so that they will take
the right decisions. We work with our partner municipality in Belgium on development subjects
and take gender and sustainable development into account. We need to show these movies to
our council. In Senegal there is equality between men and women to vote, but the law has not
been applied since 2012. Women need to be solidary to have equality at the local level.
 Mrs. Sandoval: We also need to look at climate change. It is important to have the ngo's.
We have the tool of gender budgeting to analyze the reality. And then you can pressure
the politicians to change their plans. Once I did a training for a big organization. They
had a big project on disabled children, but the gender dimension was forgotten. In Africa,
the mother is guilty when she has a disabled child. It is not enough to work only on
projects for those children, but you also need projects for the mothers. If you do not have
empowered the mothers, these women won’t demand their rights.
Reaction 4: I work for the European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). We are united on
world level in UCLG. We just launched a project in Ghana, a project for Sub-Saharan Africa. It
is a project of 4 years on climate change. The project tries to integrate the gender dimension.
We are working with an UN organization and they also want to integrate it. The objective is about
capacity building. We support the development of plans to fight climate change, with a big role
for women, because they are organizing the households. We can use the expertise of your
organization, to support us with the program. I really liked the presentation.
For more information on the project in Africa, please contact me:
CCRE – CEMR
Eva Baños de Guisasola – policy adviser – Environment, Energy and Climate
Council of European Municipalities and Regions
[email protected]
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+32 2 213 86 99
Reaction 5: Thank you for the very attractive presentation. It was a summary of what happens
in the world with gender. In Benin, we see that the government of Benin plays a very big role
and they can do something for gender equality. But there are only 3 women in the council and
only 2 women are mayor. That is the disease of Africa. Women need to be included. Women
don’t get the chance to express themselves like men. Their self-esteem needs to grow. We need
active women, but we also need men that are active for women. We need to look for the
capabilities and make policy plans, e.g. on maternity leave.
Reaction 6: In our culture women always have other work waiting at home. In the North, men
already start cooking. Men are helping in the households. It is important for men to understand
that women are equal. That is a very long and difficult task. During your presentation you focused
on the gender dimension. If we only focus on gender, we are not focusing on a minority.
Second comment: the work in the household is not remunerated, so how do we count this in the
gender budget? We are in the third period of the decentralization and the gender issue has been
forgotten.
 Mrs. Sandoval: when we talk about inequality, we need to look at what makes us
different biologically and culturally/socially/politically. Gender refers to equal relations.
Both in the north and in the south we see the difference. We just did a survey in
European households. Still 70% of the work is done by women, even when men are
helping in many ways. We are going through an empowering process. It is a tool for
women to get stronger. Some man are feminists. Quote of Simone De Beauvoir: One is
not born, but rather becomes a woman. The quote emphasizes the cultural difference.
We need to transform the world, man and women together. In a relationship, you are
together with a person. It is not depending on sex, color or religion. That is the believe
in my organization. Some say the household job should be remunerated and put in the
GDP, others say it should be shared. If women say ‘I stop having children, cleaning,…’,
than society is dead. That is not the idea. It is when you want a new job and they ask
you ‘do you have children?’ that it plays a role. It’s about getting more equal rights for
daddies, so they can stay home as well.
Reaction 6: I come from a small municipality in Ecuador. Our mayor is a women, also councilors
are women. These kind of workshops are good. But the day that more men than women will
attend these kind of workshops, it is going better. The men in this room should get an applause.
Reaction 7: (Benin) I wanted to attend this workshop to see whether the gender issue is
something global. There is no time for victimization, but it is time to start fighting. Even if you are
a men, you will never have the possibility to move on. I have a 1-year old little girl. I drop her off
at school. She doesn't like it, because the other pupils think she comes from a rich family,
because she is driven to school. So the education is really important! The European models
won't all fit for Africa. So I find it inspiring to listen to the examples of Senegal.
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Reaction 8: I speak to you as a man. But I’m also a feminist. But underneath I’m still a macho.
There is no typical macho man. You are raised like that and it is very difficult to change that.
Carla sees herself as a feminist, but behaves in a social context that puts herself in an inferior
position. Being neutral is really difficult.
Reaction 9 (man of Peru): I want to thank this group of African and south-American women an.
I work in Peru. I didn't knew the gender equality issues at local level. Statistics are the best way
to explain, but women need to be self-confident. In Peru there is a loss of values, because
women start to act more like men, are rude,…
 Mrs. Sandoval: I wouldn’t put the whole responsibility in the hands of the women. Men
and women need each other. As from being a child, we have heard what women should
do. We need to deconstruct this. We should also deconstruct the masculinity, that men
shouldn't cry for example… It is because of the education books and the system. The
development process is started amongst women. You have to learn to relinquish this
power. It is difficult to redistribute your health. We have been given this reproductive
rule.
I delivered a training in Belgium, with 2 African men and some women. The group
needed to answer questions on what women and men are in this society. They had
worked separately. The women had a long list. The man were ready after a couple of
minutes.
It is important to include men in the discussion.
To make the parallel with racism... You cannot change the color of your skin, but you
can change the way you think. That is the responsibility of all of us.
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