This chapter of Civil Society and Social Movements: Building Sustainable Democracies in Latin America examines women’s social movements that emerged in the 1970s—during the dictatorships and economic crises in South America and guerrilla movements opposed to authoritarian regimes in Central America.
Women are breaking the highest of glass ceilings in politics. On Oct. 28, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became Argentina’s president-elect. Since March 2006, Michele Bachelet has been president of neighboring Chile.
Increasing women’s presence in political decision-making positions has been advocated by development organisms, activists and academics as a means to strengthen democracy and to make policy-making processes more representative of wider sections of the population.
The number of women represented in political leadership in the Americas has increased dramatically over the past thirty years. In 2006, Chile elected its first female president, Michelle Bachelet, and Jamaica its first female prime minister, Portia Simpson-Miller.
In 1975, female politicians and women’s groups from around the world met in Mexico City for the UN’s First World Conference on Women. They discussed the plight of women, from their absence in politics to the unique social and economic problems women face, and devised a set of recommendations for improving women’s status.
Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, women’s policy agencies (WPAs) have been created in the context of democratization and state modernization, a context which has exerted considerable influence over the trajectory of these agencies throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Women form more than half the population, but constitute only a small minority of all political representatives. According to the most recent figures, they occupy 17 percent of all seats in national parliaments around the world (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2007b). However, attention to global averages masks important variations.
Research shows that what is good for women is good for business organizations as a whole, especially for organizational leadership.
In 1999, the United Nations proclaimed Nov. 25 ”International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.” Latin America has been a world leader in promulgating conventions on women’s rights.
Women and Global Leadership: Report of the Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas. April, 2004
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas (WLCA)—a joint initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)—are pleased to present this report on the discussions regarding women’s leadership that occurred at the meeting, “Politics Matter: A Dialogue of Women Political Leaders,” held on November 13, 2000 at IDB headquarters in Washington, DC. We are particularly grateful to the fifty top women politicians from throughout the hemisphere whose thoughtful participation made this forum a success.
This paper highlights the achievements and the failures of American governments in implementing Summit provisions related to women’s rights in the areas of violence, health, political participation, legal rights, and the maintenance of women’s agencies in the state.
The Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas (WLCA)—a joint initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)—is pleased to present this report on women in political power in the hemisphere. The WLCA believes that the number of women in political leadership is a concrete indicator of a country’s progress (or lack thereof) toward fulfilling its commitment to women’s equity. The WLCA is releasing this report prior to the third Summit of the Americas––taking place in Quebec City, Canada, on April 20 to 22, 2001––as part of its continuing efforts to monitor progress on promises made to women.
