Women’s local councils in Spanish municipalities: analyzing inclusiveness and agenda bias

Abstract

Local women’s councils are strategic places to channel women’s participation and demands in order to promote gender policies at the local level. Nevertheless, as well as other participatory mechanisms, their dynamics could be biased according to participant’s characteristics and the institutional agenda of local government. In this paper we try to show evidences about theses bias trough a survey carry out among women’s associations in five Spanish cities. Results show that the participatory dynamic of local women’s councils produces two kind of bias: an inclusiveness bias according to the traits of women’s organizations, favouring those more oriented towards political activism; and a substantive bias according to the issues discussed, favouring those close to the local government agenda.