Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

More documents

Recommendations

Info

17 The persistent symbology of gender and power differences between men and women have given rise not only to a discriminatory distribution of rights, but also to a serious limitation on the real and autonomous enjoyment of them. The emergence of the theoretical and political expressions of the feminist movement has brought significant pressure to bear for the inclusion of women in the public sphere and for a shift in the boundaries between the public and the private. Women’s organizations and gender institutions have done much to bring issues previously considered private, such as domestic violence and the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights, into the public arena. The discourse no longer compares men and women and their respective differences and advantages, but contrasts women’s deprivation of goods and rights with universal declarations (Valcárcel, 2001, p. 9). Based on a critique of the new sociopolitical paradigm and its inadequacy, the feminist movement makes a first, sweeping correction in “enlightened democratism” and, by formulating its demands in political code, shows how the male concept of citizenship and the definition of femininity have laid the foundations for an non-inclusive form of democracy. Gender equality is an indicator of how democratic a political system is. Gender has become a specific variable in the political arena. Increasingly, mechanisms have been developed to include women in elected and mandated posts, with the most important compensatory mechanisms being minimum quotas for representation. In the last few years, there has been some debate and acceptance of parity democracy, which consists of a rethinking of the concept of representation as confined to ideological and territorial plurality alone: since the citizenry is made up of men and women, both should be represented in equal percentages in the political system. In this sense, parity is not simply a higher quota for women, but the broadest possible expression of universality. This is how parity is understood by the Venezuelan women who argued for its inclusion in the legislation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Lastly, in order to provide scope for twenty-first century demands for parity, progress must be made in the realm of theory in order to overcome the naturalist cultural heritage once and for all and strengthen democracy (Valcárcel, 2001). Achieving parity is thus a process that includes recourse to quotas and other tools but that, above all, requires the recognition of women as full citizens in their own right. G. PARITY AS A DEMOCRATIC OBJECTIVE The rights women have secured as citizens and their political representation in the current context provide grounds for considering parity to be a feasible democratic objective once power-related tensions and disputes are resolved. The emergence of “governmentality” does not always coincide with the devitalization of sovereignty (Butler, 2006) and it may be that women have to accurately capture the constellation of stakeholders within which they function in order to make a leap in history. The parity movement emerged during the 1990s in a context of accelerating globalization and internal differentiation within increasingly complex societies. Citizenship and the political representation of diversity becomes a highly relevant issue as globalization deepens and, in the process, States become
18 relatively less powerful, new global institutions arise and large waves of migration move across continents. In that context, the parity movement questions the unitary, linear thinking of the past and opens up the democracy agenda to the need to weave an institutional fabric that represents social diversity and recognizes new ways for society and the State to relate to one another. More than other rights, gender equality has been associated with changes in the collective mentality. As noted by Murillo de la Vega (2006), the regulation of private property was accomplished without the measure being subject to the populace having a clear understanding of the limits imposed by respect for other people’s belongings. Any attempt to apply the principle of equality, however, prompts a chorus of female and male voices alike, recommending waiting periods and more gentle changes to avoid disturbing the social status quo (Fagoaga and Saavadra, 2006, p. 9). The campaign for parity in elected and appointed positions at senior levels of government was initiated in the late 1980s by women in European politics, in response to the poor representation of women in parliaments —it was surprisingly low in France— and in high government positions. The concept of parity was proposed in 1989 by the Council of the European Communities. In November 1992, at the request of the Commission of the European Communities, the European summit “Women in Power” was held in Athens, bringing together current and former women ministers, who concluded that democracy requires parity in the representation and governance of nations. In Latin America and the Caribbean, these demands arose in the last decades of the twentieth century. Two traditions may be identified in the campaign for parity: the French tradition, whose arguments are based on universalism, citizenship, equality and difference; and the tradition of the American continent, whose rationale is the need for affirmative action to counteract the exclusion of different groups from the exercise of power. One strand of the French school of thought argues that women are not a category of the population, but rather constitute half of humanity. The duality of sex is thus a difference of universe, not a category, and that “mixed-ness” does not run counter to the equality principle but, on the contrary, represents a necessary translation of it. From this perspective, there must be room in politics for sexual difference as something that is cross-cutting and inherent to the human genus. The philosopher Sylviane Agacinski (1999) views parity as a new concept of sexual difference and a new way of conceiving democracy. Parity campaigners reject supposed neutrality and acknowledge the difference between the sexes without ascribing any hierarchical order, asserting that public responsibility is the concern of men and women alike. Womanhood is one of the two possible manifestations of humanness. For Agacinski, women are not in essence different from men but constitute a distinct social and cultural category, owing to their traditional exclusion from power. As women, therefore, they require a deliberate effort of inclusion in political affairs. Acceptance of parity enables more accurate representation of the nation. Parity is a recent thing and it has developed according to the political traditions of individual countries, including the influence wielded by the women’s movement. In Latin America, Chile is the only country to have assumed parity as a programmatic commitment under the government of President Bachelet. This has led to the appointment of a parity cabinet and has extended to the make-up of undersecretary’s departments, provincial governor’s offices and other public services. The effort to establish a gender balance in decision-making has been accompanied by policies with a gender perspective in such
Page 2 and 3: LC/L.2738(CRM.10/3) August 2007 The
Page 4 and 5: 1 FOREWORD The Economic Commission
Page 6 and 7: 3 INTRODUCTION The women of Latin A
Page 8: 5 essentially not on biological fac
Page 11 and 12: 8 Convention, but the process has b
Page 13 and 14: 10 among development, security and
Page 15 and 16: 12 Another sphere of democratic deb
Page 17 and 18: 14 to articulate their efforts in i
Page 19: 16 boundaries between human, reprod
Page 23 and 24: 20 universalist school’s argument
Page 25 and 26: 22 democratic movements, gradually
Page 27 and 28: 24 Table I.2 LATIN AMERICA (20 COUN
Page 29 and 30: 26 In many countries, a new collect
Page 31 and 32: 28 In Costa Rica the quota issue be
Page 33 and 34: 30 Table I.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 35 and 36: 32 The differences between the resu
Page 37 and 38: 34 Figure I.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 39 and 40: 36 Figure I.6 CARIBBEAN (11 COUNTRI
Page 41 and 42: 38 Figure I.9 CARIBBEAN (9 COUNTRIE
Page 43 and 44: 40 Women’s entry to parliament ca
Page 45 and 46: 42 Figure I.10 LATIN AMERICA AND TH
Page 47 and 48: 44 Figure I.12 THE CARIBBEAN (10 CO
Page 49 and 50: 46 Figure I.14 LATIN AMERICA (15 CO
Page 51 and 52: 48 Table I.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 53 and 54: 50 was from 9% to 1.3%, Jamaica (fr
Page 55 and 56: 52 agencies at the highest level an
Page 58 and 59: 55 II. WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO TH
Page 60 and 61: 57 more concerned with the ethic of
Page 62 and 63: 59 Box II.1 THE WORK OF CARE IN SOC
Page 64 and 65: 61 of care on women mounts up. This
Page 66 and 67: 63 conditions of employment of work
Page 68 and 69: 65 social security and social benef
Page 70 and 71:
67 disincentive to their recruitmen
Page 72 and 73:
69 seeks to reform the constitution
Page 74 and 75:
71 Box II.4 REGULATION OF EMPLOYMEN
Page 76 and 77:
73 those in rural areas (42.1%), wh
Page 78 and 79:
75 sex and activity (see figure II.
Page 80 and 81:
77 Figure II.4 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 82 and 83:
79 Figure II.7 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 84 and 85:
81 Box II.6 HAITI. DOMESTIC WORKERS
Page 86 and 87:
83 It is interesting to characteriz
Page 88 and 89:
85 care to the “productive” adu
Page 90 and 91:
87 Box II. 7 (concluded) To sum up,
Page 92 and 93:
89 are also inaccurate, which widen
Page 94 and 95:
91 Some progress has been made sinc
Page 96 and 97:
93 Figure II.15 AVERAGE HOURS SPENT
Page 98 and 99:
95 Country Costa Rica El Salvador G
Page 100 and 101:
97 domestic life is shared between
Page 102 and 103:
99 employee for family reasons. The
Page 104 and 105:
101 In the private sphere, there ha
Page 106 and 107:
103 Table II.4 SEVEN SELECTED CITIE
Page 108 and 109:
105 Box II.12 EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL SE
Page 110 and 111:
107 III. TOWARDS A RESEARCH AND POL
Page 112 and 113:
109 (iii) Contribute to the mainten
Page 114 and 115:
111 Appendix TECHNICAL NOTES The st
Page 116 and 117:
113 Household survey information al
Page 118 and 119:
115 sub-module “home maintenance
Page 120 and 121:
118 _____ (2003), "Políticas para
Page 122 and 123:
120 Carrasco, Cristina (2001), “H
Page 124 and 125:
122 _____ (2003b), “Redes de apoy
Page 126 and 127:
124 Huenchuan, Sandra and José Mig
Page 128 and 129:
126 Montaño, Sonia (2007a), “Emp
Page 130 and 131:
128 Rico, María Nieves (2006), “
Page 132:
130 _____ (1979), Convention on the
show all

Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?