Commonwealth Secretariat
  1. Home
  2. What's New
  3. Who We Are
  4. What We Do
    1. Democracy
    2. Economics
    3. Education
    4. Gender
    5. Governance
    6. Health
    7. Human Rights
    8. Law
    9. Small States
    10. Sport
    11. Sustainability
    12. Youth
    13. Millennium Development Goals
    14. Funding
  5. News
    1. Events
    2. News Archive Search
    3. Picture Stories
  6. Media Room
    1. Press Archive Search
    2. Media Contacts
    3. CommonwealthTV
    4. Podcast: Pick of the Commonwealth
    5. Events
    6. In the Media
    7. Updates
    8. Downloads
  7. Resources
    1. Documents
    2. Image Library
    3. Libary & Archives
    4. Publications
  8. Publications
  9. Employment
  10. FAQs
    1. Acronyms
  11. Contact Us

Promoting Good Governance and Gender Equality in the Public Sector

30 June 2005

Good Governance and Gender Equality in the Public Sector in Commonwealth Africa
The Secretariat is committed to promoting gender equality in all spheres and at all levels to ensure sustainable development.
A regional workshop on 'Good Governance and Gender Equality in the Public Sector in Commonwealth Africa' has been taking place in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 27 to 30 June 2005. This event was sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat and organised in collaboration with the Malawi Institute of Management.

The workshop focuses on the relationship between good governance and gender equality, and the importance of both in achieving sustainable socio-economic and political development. It is aimed at developing a strategy and plan of action for Commonwealth African governments to integrate gender in public sector management. This workshop is geared to help empower men and women to play a role in influencing policy-making in the public sector. The Secretariat encourages the development of strategies to ensure public sector accountability to gender equality through the sharing of best practices in public sector policies, programmes and plans.

Professor Victor Ayeni, Director of the Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division, which manages this workshop, said: "Gender equality needs to be understood and tackled from the context of good governance since it is a contributory factor as well as an outcome of good governance. In most African countries, the public sector is the largest governance structure responsible for spearheading and facilitating socio-economic development. But gender equity in governance outcomes is still limited in many African countries. Good governance includes effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, accountability, equity and participation."

Professor Ayeni stated that the Secretariat is committed to promoting gender equality in all spheres and at all levels to ensure sustainable development. Integrating gender equality in public sector management is crucial to ensure there is gender equality in public service delivery. The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation provides technical assistance and capacity-building to member countries to reform their public sectors so that they can effectively facilitate sustainable development.

The 45 workshop participants from 15 Commonwealth African countries include senior managers from ministries and departments responsible for public sector management, national planning, public sector reform units, as well as national gender ministries and machineries.

 

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 241, 29 June 2005

Share this page
About this