Engendering governance refers to the process of making governance systems, institutions, policies, laws, programmes and decision-making processes responsive to the different needs, experiences and interests of women, men and people of diverse gender identities. It recognises that governance is not gender-neutral because women and men often experience unequal access to resources, opportunities, public institutions and political power. Engendering governance therefore seeks to integrate gender equality into the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policies and to ensure meaningful participation of women in decision-making at all levels. In the context of Gender and Development, engendering governance represents a shift from viewing women merely as beneficiaries of welfare programmes to recognising them as active citizens, rights-holders, decision-makers and agents of development. It requires institutions to identify gender-based inequalities and address them through appropriate laws, budgets, administrative practices and participatory mechanisms. The approach includes both increasing women's representation in governance and transforming institutions so that they become more accountable and responsive to gender concerns. The necessity of engendering governance arises first from the persistence of gender inequality. Women have historically faced discrimination in education, employment, property ownership, political participation, access to credit, healthcare and other areas of social and economic life. Even when laws formally provide equal rights, institutional practices and social norms may prevent women from exercising these rights fully. Gender-responsive governance helps identify such structural barriers and develop measures to remove them. A second reason is the unequal distribution of political power. Governance decisions determine the allocation of public resources and the design of development programmes, yet women have traditionally been underrepresented in legislatures, political parties, public administration and other decision-making institutions. Their limited presence can result in policies that do not adequately reflect women's concerns, particularly those relating to unpaid care work, reproductive health, gender-based violence, livelihood security and access to public services. Greater participation of women makes governance more representative and democratic. Engendering governance is also necessary because women are not a homogeneous group. Gender inequality intersects with class, caste, ethnicity, disability, age, location and economic status. Poor rural women, for example, may experience different forms of exclusion from those experienced by urban middle-class women. A gender-sensitive governance framework therefore encourages governments to understand diverse needs rather than treating women as a single category. Another important necessity is the recognition of women's unpaid and invisible work. Women perform a large share of household labour, childcare, eldercare and other reproductive activities. Conventional economic and governance systems have often failed to recognise this contribution. Gender-responsive policies