Resource information
The National Policy on Women
(Women's Policy) formulated in 1993, aimed to create
appropriate structures within government offices and
institutions to establish equitable and gender-sensitive
public policies. The Government of Ethiopia in 1995, under
its new constitution, renewed its commitment towards this
policy. The government initiated an ambitious and extensive
process of regionalization, whereby new regional boundaries
were demarcated and administrative powers devolved to
regional governments which were authorized to implement all
development policies. This represented a departure from the
earlier practice of centralized project management by
ministries. This more participatory and decentralized form
of governance made the implementation of the national policy
a more challenging endeavor. There was correspondingly a
great need to build the delivery capacity of the regional
governments. While the central level of government promoted
gender-sensitive policies and development interventions,
very little was known about the constraints and issues at
the regional levels.
