End of Commitment Report – Bogota 50/50: Route to gender parity in Bogota’s open government

Name of Evaluator

Javier Urrea – Gobierna Bien

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Bogotá, Colombia

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Bogotá, Colombia, 2021 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Bogota 50/50: Route to genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More parity in Bogota’s open government

Title

Bogota 50/50: Route to gender parity in Bogota’s open government

Action

Expected results: Systematize and publish statistical information on women’s social and political participation in Bogota.Communication actions for the promotion of women’s leadership and inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More. Parity in participation instancesPolitical training school for women, including training in argumentation, document production, digital and communication skills, citizen and electoral campaigns, political negotiation, among others.Dialogue between institutions, women’s organizations and participation bodies to promote women’s agendas.Women’s benches in the Local Administrative Boards.Multi-party District Gender RoundtableGender-sensitive participatory budgetsCitizen oversight and social control for gender equity. Actions in educational institutions such as the promotion of parity in school governmentsGeneral Objective Design, implement and mobilize the Bogotá 50/50 strategy: Route for gender parity in the open government of Bogotá, advancing in the construction of parity democracy and the achievement of substantive equality between men and women, for the guarantee of rights and the establishment of a new social contract and form of social organization through which exclusion and discrimination, particularly towards women, are eradicated

Problem

There are barriers that prevent women from accessing participation and representation scenarios on equal terms with men. Some are structural and limit the real options to achieve representation, and others refer to the capacities and tools accessible to women, such as material and symbolic resources that allow them to develop their leadership. These obstacles limit their ability to influence in consultative and decision-making bodies, a circumstance that directly affects their living conditions in the different territories, reducing the possibility of seeing their agendas, needs, and interests materialize and the guarantee of their rights. The consequences of this deficit in democracy are as follows: Limited inclusion of women’s interests, demands, and needs in the public agenda. Cultural conditions that exclude women from the management of public affairs.A scarce supply of mechanisms or initiatives aimed at the development of women’s advocacy, leadership, empowerment, and political participation capacities.Multiple difficulties for women to start or continue with a political career.Deficient institutional articulation and regulatory development, which makes the inclusion of a gender perspective in various public initiatives enforceable.Excessive concentration of participatory budgets (or local investment budgets) on the acquisition of goods and public works to the detriment of other social, community, and rights-strengthening initiatives.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The level of compliance was substantial, with significant progress achieved in most of the planned milestones. According to the information reported in the monitoring system (ProgOGP), actions on gender parity in citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More bodies were consolidated, along with the visibility of women’s political engagement and the strengthening of leadership through the Political Clinic.

The reports indicate that, in the second monitoring quarter, there was broad participation of women in local spaces (18 localities), as well as consistent progress in political training processes, with more than 4,000 women trained. Additionally, support was provided for multiparty discussion processes and for influencing the definition of local priorities.

However, some milestones related to gender-sensitive participatory budgeting and the use of public resources to strengthen leadership faced delays or challenges in their full implementation.

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

Among the external factors, the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic stand out, as they reduced the possibility of holding in-person meetings. This required the District Secretariat for Women to migrate processes to digital environments, which allowed continuity to be maintained, albeit with limitations for sectors with low connectivity.

At the internal level, the Secretariat strengthened interinstitutional coordination and promoted collaboration with women’s social organizations, which energized the process. It is noteworthy that the coordination with political actors in the District Multiparty Gender Roundtable made it possible to sustain key discussions despite external barriers.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

Most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

In general terms, yes. The Political Clinic advanced steadily, achieving continuous training processes. Likewise, initiatives were developed to establish women’s caucuses in Local Administrative Boards (JAL) and to promote multiparty dialogue spaces.

Most of the milestones were implemented as planned: the Political Clinic for women was launched, caucuses in JAL were formed and supported, multiparty dialogue spaces were developed, and training processes for more than 4,000 women were carried out. However, some outputs, such as guidelines for gender-sensitive participatory budgeting, did not reach their original level of consolidation.

Nevertheless, the line of action aimed at gender-sensitive participatory budgeting did not achieve the expected degree of consolidation. Although technical assistance efforts were made, the reports indicate that these guidelines were not translated into enforceable regulatory outcomes.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidencia_Compromiso-Sec-de-la-Mujer_Bogota-50-50.pdf

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The commitment significantly contributed to improving the quality and accessibility of information on women’s political participation. The systematization of statistical data and its publication in reports provided greater transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence: Mujer Transparencia

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

New opportunities for participation and feedback were created, particularly through the District Multiparty Gender Roundtables, the women’s caucuses in Local Administrative Boards (JAL), and the Political Clinic. These spaces consolidated collective capacities and made leadership more visible.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence: Mujer Democracia Paritaria

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The commitment significantly strengthened social oversight and citizen monitoring capacities by promoting processes to safeguard women’s political rights. Although its scope was limited in terms of institutionalization, it represented a relevant advancement.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence: Mujer 50-50

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The process significantly positioned Bogotá’s leadership within the international scope of OGP Local, as it was recognized among the innovative commitments. In addition, it generated a cultural shift by making parity visible as a guiding principle in the construction of the public agenda.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence: Mujer – guidelines for forming women’s committees – JAL

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment did address the identified problem: the structural exclusion of women from decision-making bodies. While full parity was not achieved in all spaces, access was broadened and female leadership benchmarks with political influence were established.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Evidence: Mujer-50-501

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

A key lesson is the importance of aligning gender agendas with planning instruments and participatory budgeting. The challenge of ensuring women’s inclusion in local decision-making revealed that, without clear and enforceable regulatory guidelines, progress depends excessively on the prevailing political will.

Another lesson learned is that sustained political training (such as the Political Clinic) is essential to reduce gaps in advocacy capacities. Likewise, the experience showed that the use of digital environments made it possible to maintain implementation during the pandemic, although there is still a need to expand connectivity and access to technological tools for women in peripheral territories.

Finally, it is recommended to ensure continuity of the commitment in future action plans by consolidating women’s caucuses and formalizing the gender perspective in participatory budgeting, to guarantee sustainability and prevent setbacks in the achievements made.