Press Release No. G/40/00
3 October 2000

Bangkok, 3 October (United Nations Information Services) – Women in decision-making positions in government provide “transformative leadership” by redefining political priorities and focusing more on the environment, human development and building sustainable communities.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Mr. Kim Hak-Su, was speaking today at the observance of UN World Habitat Day 2000 held at the UN Conference Centre, Bangkok.

Mr. Kim said that while women make up more than half of the population in the region’s cities, very few women are able to reach positions of power in urban local governments. “The reasons are multiple: patriarchal social systems; social and cultural prejudices; financial dependence of women; lack of media support, exposure to political processes and training opportunities for women; family and child-care responsibilities; the high cost of seeking and holding office; and the criminalization of politics.”

Local government is the only level government where women can enter political life with relative ease, as the costs of mounting election campaigns are relatively low and issues at the local level tend to motivate women to enter politics, he added. “Local governments also are good training grounds for women politicians who want to reach higher levels of elected or appointed office in government.”

Among the speakers participating in this year’s observance, held under the theme “Women in Local Governance,” were Governor Samak Sundaravej of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, who gave the keynote address, Mr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, Regional Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Urban Management Programme/United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), Dr. Suteera Thomson Vichitranonda, Gender and Development Research Institute, Dr. Chamniern Paul Vorratnchaiphan, Building Together Association, Mayor Premruedee Champoonod, Pitsanulok Province, and Mayor Penpuk Srithong, Ubolrajathanee Province.

The event was co-organized by ESCAP, Gender and Development Research Institute, Building Together Association, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Approximately 650 participants from throughout Thailand attended the meeting. Women from all stratas of local governance in Thailand were represented, ranging from organizers in slum communities to Members of Parliament.

Dr. Chamniern Paul Vorratnchaiphan, of the Building Together Association, said World Habitat Day 2000 was a call for more equal and efficient partnership with women and more balance between men and women in managing cities.

He said that although a “good” start had been made in involving women in urban governance, it was still not enough. Women have become involved in urban governance in the more than 1,100 cities in Thailand. There were 81 female mayors of Thai cities and 209 female city clerks. In addition, in local communities women had taken greater initiative and responsibility for family income generation, especially in light of the economic crisis. “Urban poverty is still the number one problem to be resolved in Thai cities,” he noted, and concluded that “women make especially good urban managers in the development of clean and healthy, equitable and prosperous, sustainable communities and cities.”

Public recognition of women’s contribution to the economic, social and political development of Thailand was limited, making it difficult for women to be in the frontline in the public sphere, said Ms. Suteera Thomson Vichitranonda of the Gender Development and Research Institute.

“As a consequence in Thailand, women represent about 6 percent of MPs and 10 percent of the Senators. Elected women in local administration at the district, municipality and provincial levels are even smaller in number, represent less than 10 percent. In committees concerning public policies at the national level, women form a negligible percentage. Yet women are half of the population,” she added.

Nathaniel von Einsiedel of UNCHS (Habitat) said it was increasingly being accepted that bad governance and poor policies are the foremost cause of poverty in the cities. His agency’s Gender and Urban Governance Campaign aimed to increase roles for women in the decision-making process and ensure that city authorities give on-going attention to the inclusion of women and women’s organization in local governance. “These two objectives are critical to address the problem of the under-representation of women as local level decision makers,” he noted.

ESCAP has been working on the issue of women in urban local governance since 1977. At present it is preparing for the Asia-Pacific Summit of Women Mayors and Councillors scheduled for early 2001. As part of its preparation for the Summit, ESCAP is overseeing preparation of State of Women in Urban Local Governments reports in 14 countries of the region.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. David Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Services
Tel: 288-1866-67; Fax: 288-1052; E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org