The work presented is designed to reflect upon local development starting from the study of gender policy. The study of this policy is particularly useful for reading the new challenges to local contexts and developing new measures designed both to support the economic development of the territories and to encourage inclusion and social justice. By analysing the guidelines contained in Por and semi-structured interviews, the paper focuses on the study of the logic and the meanings of policies and analyses privileged measures. Starting with five models, the results can show different conceptions of development by focusing on mechanisms of regulation and on the relationship between the different stakeholders.
Keywords: Local development, gender policies, textual analysis, social justice, economic competitiveness governance