Feminist Institutionalism and Gendered Bureaucracies

This book examines the processes for the inclusion of women, and the role of women employees in Nepal’s forestry bureaucracy. The book adopts a “gender lens” drawn from feminist institutionalism and is framed around the following four objectives: evaluating the effectiveness of current legislative and policy frameworks for the inclusion of women in the Nepalese forest bureaucracy; examining the dynamics of organizational culture, formal and informal institutions, and structure and agency in and around forest bureaucracy in Nepal; assessing power relations in forestry institutions focusing on influential participation of women forestry professionals in the bureaucratic structure; and gaining insights about the alternative space of feminist institutionalism in connection with women inclusive forest bureaucracy.
Findings in the book inform and extend feminist institutionalism perspectives by applying it to a context which remains under explored, providing insider perspectives on the efficacy of public sector cultural change, especially as it relates to those areas within bureaucracies less in a position to adopt the changes mandated by society and principles of good governance.
Radha Wagle is Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Soma Pillay is senior lecturer and researcher at Federation University Australia.
Wendy Wright is Associate Professor of Conservation Biology at the School of Health and Life Sciences and Associate Dean of Research Training at the Graduate Research School at Federation University Australia.