Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
aims were to minimize the inconvenience and insecurity that women experience in
their everyday lives, to enhance their civic participation and to create a city where
women could be comfortable and content.
Oh Se-Hoon, Mayor of Seoul, proposed the initiative. Although the Women and
Family Policy Affairs Office was originally responsible, across the board, for managing
the formulation and implementation of women’s policies, every department of
the Seoul Municipal Government was tasked with designing, implementing and evaluating
specific programmes. To promote citizen participation in policy decisionmaking,
an extensive Citizen Participation project was launched at the level of agency
personnel, among women’s policy experts, housewives, and college students.
Civil society was also involved in the policymaking process to consistently bring the
perspectives of women on board.
The project was launched in 2007 with the intention of promoting “substantial” happiness
among women. This initiative included 90 sub-projects addressing the frustration
women faced regarding employment, convenience, prosperity, and safety. Ultimately,
the full range of areas covered expanded to include roads, transportation,
culture, housing, etc. Thus, considerable improvements in city facilities and services
were achieved. The number of public women’s restrooms increased steadily, from 87
in 2007 to 378 in 2008 and 1,049 in 2009. Women-friendly parking lots were installed
near entrances to buildings, and the number of elevators rose from 68 in 2007
to 4,622 in 2008 and 23,324 in 2009. To improve safety conditions for women, 594
emergency bells, 1,264 closed-circuit television monitors, and an additional 2,524
lights were installed to enhance the brightness of parking lots.
For women’s safe return home at night, a brand-call taxi system was put into operation
with a “safe-return-home service” that sends information to passengers’ parents
or guardians at the start of the ride. A total of 6,580 taxi drivers in 2008 and 22,099
in 2009 were registered with the system, and about 106,679 people used the service
during those years.
Women who had to quit their jobs because of pregnancy or childcare responsibilities
were offered assistance in finding new jobs or starting their own businesses. In 2007,
8,076 jobs were provided, growing to 10,220 in 2008 and 32,715 in 2009.
In 2009, the Seoul Child Care Centre was established to provide high-quality child
care facilities (including 1,999 certified centres). In addition, almost 70 kilometers of
women-friendly walkways, 50 parks and two model apartment complexes were created
to make everyday living more convenient and safe for women. Standard manuals
(guidelines) for restrooms, parking lots, walkways, parks, etc., are available for
use in designing and constructing similar facilities in the private sector, and after an
on-site inspection, certification or a “women-friendly facility mark” is awarded to
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