Women's leadership and participation in neighborhood associations: Contributions to local development in the case of Barrio Maravillas, Pilcomayo (2021)

Abstract

Women's participation and leadership are essential for sustainable development and social equity. However, globally, women continue to face significant gaps in their public empowerment and decision-making, highlighting the importance of their active involvement in local development management, as they are key actors in this process. Within this framework, the purpose of this research was to understand and analyze the dynamics of women's participation in the neighborhood council of the Maravillas district, Pilcomayo district, Huancayo province, as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and the social and cultural factors that influence their participation in the management of their community. To this end, a qualitative approach was employed, using a general scientific method and a specific inductive method, along with a basic, descriptive narrative and ethnographic design. This approach revealed social recognition as a key element in empowering women's leadership and demonstrated that their participation positively impacts local development by promoting projects and services for the common good. However, the scope of this impact is initially limited by factors such as educational level, workload, and gender barriers. Therefore, it is concluded that women's agency strengthens local governance and contributes to more inclusive and sustainable development.