Full-fledged gender inclusion in participatory budgeting in Villa El Salvador: participation, representation and political equality

This study assesses the degree of gender inclusion in Empowered Participatory Governance (EPG) in Villa El Salvador, Peru. Research consisted of ethnographic investigation, field observation, and semi-structured interviews. The thesis analyzes gender inclusion around three concepts: participation, representation, and political equality. Limitations to full-fledged inclusion are unravelled, and discussed in relation to gender. In Villa El Salvador, norms of gender equity, embodied in quotas for registration and representation in power structures, are in place. However, quotas do not guarantee equal attendance to workshops or equal representation of women. The variables limiting full-fledged gender inclusion relate to gendered productive and reproductive roles, social and cultural aspects of machismo, and the male-dominated nature of the membership of organizations. Quotas are a step in the right direction, but the study concludes that as long as other limitations are not addressed, full-fledged gender inclusion remains an unfulfilled aspiration.