Gender and local governance: Women still far from decision-making levers
The presence of women in local authorities does not always translate into real power of influence. In a study carried out between March 2024 and February 2026 in Bargny, Cayar, Sokone and Toubacouta, the NGO “Natural Justice” highlights still limited female participation in the spaces where the management of land, natural resources and economic activities is decided.
Parity does not necessarily guarantee power. This is one of the main lessons from the NGO “Natural Justice” report devoted to the involvement of rural and peri-urban women in the management of climate change in Senegal. In the four localities studied, namely Bargny, Cayar, Sokone and Toubacouta, none achieves parity in all of its decision-making bodies. “The overall inclusion index for women stands at 41.15% in Sokone, 37.26% in Toubacouta, 26.79% in Bargny and only 26.18% in Cayar,” notes the study which was carried out between March 2024 and February 2026.
“Natural Justice” highlights a gap between the presence of women and their ability to influence decisions. The report thus highlights “a systematic gap between presence and power”. In Bargny, their representation rate in bodies reaches 29.47%, while their presence in strategic functions falls to 9.17%. “Natural Justice” then speaks of “facade participation”. In summary, women are present, but “the main decision-making levers remain mainly in the hands of men”.
The situation is particularly visible in fisheries governance. In the four territories, fishing organizations are among the least feminized bodies. However, women occupy a central place in the processing and marketing of fish products. The report sees the persistence of socio-cultural norms which continue to associate fisheries management with an essentially masculine world.
This marginalization does not, however, mean an absence of feminine dynamics. Certain organizations constitute real spaces of power for women. “Natural Justice” cites in particular Rapen in Bargny, Asufor in Cayar, Nebeday in Toubacouta and the neighborhood committees in Sokone. These structures display a higher than average feminization and are considered “important points of support” because they combine the presence of women and the effective exercise of responsibilities.
The report also notes that the local environment is not completely closed to women. 80.6% of those questioned perceive a dynamic favorable to their inclusion. But this dynamic is, according to “Natural Justice”, mainly driven by civil society and endogenous actors, while local state and municipal institutions remain further behind.
Beyond representation, “Natural Justice” highlights the weight of social norms. The organization speaks of “patriarchal habitus”, a set of deeply internalized behaviors and representations that make certain roles appear natural. “In this system, women themselves may end up accepting their exclusion, with justifications such as it is custom or the land belongs to men,” the report explains.
This situation is also aggravated by the lack of access to information and legal training. Without sufficient knowledge of the texts and their rights, producers have fewer tools to challenge the power relations that keep them at a distance from decision-making spaces.
The report thus calls for going beyond the simple arithmetic application of parity. He recommends positioning women more in commissions dealing with land, the environment and budget allocation. The stated objective is to transform digital presence into “real leadership”.
By Babacar Guèye DIOP
