Women transforming social norms to influencelocal governance in Guatemala and Colombia
Across Latin America, important legal and policy advances have sought to expand women’s participation in public life. Yet in many local contexts, these formal gains have not translated into meaningful influence. This study explores this gap by asking: how do social norms shape women’s participation in local decision-
making, and how can they be collectively challenged and reimagined?
Focusing on Leticia (Colombia) and Panajachel (Guatemala), the research adopts a participatory action approach combining interviews, focus groups, and social norms laboratories. Rather than treating women as subjects of study, the project engaged them as co-creators of knowledge and change. The findings show that women are not absent from participation, they are already active in community and institutional spaces. However, their influence is constrained by persistent norms around care, authority, and recognition. Participation is often conditional: women must balance multiple roles, navigate expectations of “appropriate” behavior, and overcome barriers shaped by ethnicity, education, geography, and age. As a result, participation frequently takes the form of presence without power.