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Women’s equal and full participation in decision making is extremely important for good governance, poverty alleviation and equitable human resource development in developing countries. Realizing the need, the Devolution of Power Plan system of Pakistan 2001 provided women 33% representation at all, three tiers of local governance including District, Tehsil (Sub District) and Union Council through the adoption of affirmative action/quotas. However, despite this visible formal representation women participation remained low and limited in the previous term of local governance. A review of existing studies on the subject suggests that diverse cultural, political, economic and demographic factors in Pakistan account for women’s low participation in governance. While the situation determines a clear need for capacity building initiatives it is important that a comprehensive gender capacity building framework be developed in view of the indigenous requirements. Based on a systematic analysis of the diverse factors and domains in which this phenomenon takes place, the paper offers useful insights for developing such a framework for local governance of Pakistan. It suggests adopting a two pronged strategy that seeks to promote participation through developing the people (women councilors and groups) and creating enabling environment in institutions. Specific interventions in this regard include provision of requisite knowledge, developing specific skills, building alliances, networking and mentoring at the individual level and gender sensitivity training, advocacy, institutional alliances and linkages, enhancement of the devolution management skills, and research and documentation at the institutional level.