Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

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Beginning in the 1940s, as a result of modernization processes under way in the countries and the
achievements made in education and political life, women began to be considered for senior posts, albeit a
minority of them, in public administration. This change began slowly, but has gathered strength in recent
decades. Research by Eglé Iturbe de Blanco (2003) and Karen Bart-Alexander shows that, between the
1940s and the 1960s, women ministers were appointed for the first time in the following countries:
Ecuador (1944), Panama (1950), Chile (1952), Cuba (1952), Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1953),
Colombia (1954) Costa Rica (1958), Trinidad and Tobago (1962) and Barbados (1966).
With the political democratization processes of the last two decades of the twentieth century, the
men and women of Latin America regained the right to elect their representatives and stand for election.
In Central America, peace agreements paved the way for the creation of new institutions to support
consensuses. In the region as a whole, countries came under pressure to reform their institutions in a
context of increasing globalization and shifts in economic models.
The women’s movement, including feminists, played a crucial role in the recovery of democracy
and peace-building in the wake of armed conflicts. The relationships established among the various
strands (human rights groups, survivors’ groups in conflict zones and feminist organizations) raised the
profile of the movement and secured it recognition as part of the anti-dictatorial and progressive forces
committed to peace and democracy.
In the last few years, women’s involvement in politics has become an item on the political
agenda, with women’s political participation being promoted through equality strategies implemented by
mechanisms for women’s advancement in most of the countries as part of equal opportunities
programmes. Table I.2 gives an overview of the recent evolution of government agendas in the region.
First, political participation is universally recognized as a tool for women’s empowerment and
gender equity. As regards electoral affairs, women of all sectors have explicitly expressed an aspiration to
see quota laws enacted in many of the countries where no such legislation yet exists. The positive
discrimination of women within the structure of the State is another recurrent strategy in the region. Some
recent plans also include parity explicitly, not only for the purposes of elections but also within the
structure of government. Notably, Uruguay and Costa Rica have equal opportunities plans in which parity
figures as a goal with a set timescale. Table I.2 shows government objectives or strategies which, in
combination with other factors, can help achieve positive results. Those other factors include the political
will of governments, the existence of cross-party consensuses on the effective promotion of women’s
political representation and cross-party alliances of women parliamentarians.
Women’s participation is not confined to the national level. The equality policies put in place
have provided momentum for new leaderships in almost all the countries. Although there are no definitive
studies yet, national women’s offices report achievements as regards local and national female leaders’
access to political institutions such as parliament or local government. In many countries strides have also
been made in the judiciary, in business and other important arenas, but comparable and up-to-date
regional information is still lacking. 10
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The responses of a number of countries to the ECLAC questionnaire indicated that trends at the local level are
similar to those seen at the national level, but it is not yet possible to make categorical statements or to identify
any specific features of those developments.