ONLINE EVENT: After the Vote—What’s Next for Mexico’s Judiciary?
Open to the Public
The Inter-American Dialogue, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), League of Women Voters of the United States, Inter-American Foundation, and the Organization of American States (OAS) convened a group of women political leaders in Washington on March 28 to discuss women’s political participation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Held at the Library of Congress and the Inter-American Development Bank, the discussion offered women leaders a unique opportunity to strategize how to increase women’s representation and effectiveness in politics.
A bipartisan event, the meeting also offered a forum for US members of Congress and policy experts in Washington to discuss women’s leadership with politicians from the region. The sessions on Capitol Hill were co-hosted by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Kay Granger (R-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Hilda Solis (D-CA), and Jerry Weller (R-IL).
The conference built on a series of international forums and initiatives to improve women’s political, social, and economic status following the presidential Summits of the Americas and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Participants discussed prioritizing quotas as a policy option, the need for more and better data collection on women in office, and the role of men as political allies. Panelists also provided a number of recommendations to increase adherence to Summit goals, including greater citizen and voter mobilization, media outreach, mentoring, private sector collaboration, and training for female elected officials by their political parties.
Click here to read the report of the event: “Women in the Americas: Paths to Political Power”
8:30 A.M. |
Breakfast |
9:00-9:30 A.M. |
Welcoming Remarks |
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Speakers: |
Alicia Ritchie, Inter-American Development Bank Peter Hakim, Inter-American Dialogue Mary G. Wilson, League of Women Voters of the United States Carmen Marina Gutiérrez, OAS Summits of the Americas Secretariat |
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9:30-11:00 a.m. |
Session I – Why have women made such dramatic gains in achieving political power now? What are the enabling factors and obstacles, such as quota laws, public opinion, women’s agencies, political parties, race and ethnicity? |
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Moderator: |
Anel Townsend, Peru |
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Lead-off Speakers: |
Beatriz Paredes, Mexico
Epsy Campbell, Costa Rica Nemecia Achacollo Tola, Bolivia |
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11:00-11:15 a.m. |
Coffee Break |
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11:15-1:00 p.m. |
Session II – How have women leaders affected democratic practice and policy outcomes? What strategies have been effective, such as alliances with women’s movements, use of public opinion polls and the media? |
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Moderator: |
Judith Morrison, Inter-American Foundation |
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Lead-off Speakers: |
Dayana Martínez Burke, Honduras Marta Lucía Ramírez, Colombia Olga Ferreira de López, Paraguay |
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1:00-2:30 p.m. |
Luncheon discussion: What policy and institutional changes should be enacted to promote more women into power? How can women leaders become more effective advocates for women’s rights? |
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Moderator: |
Joe Clark, Canada | ||
| Lead-off Speakers: | Billie Miller, Barbados
María Antonieta Saa, Chile |
3:30-5:00 p.m. |
Roundtable with Women Political Leaders from Latin America and the CaribbeanA discussion among women political leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean, journalists, and the audience on issues of priority importance being promoted by women leaders today, strategies employed by women political leaders to achieve these goals and personal trajectories of women who have achieved political power. |
| Welcome: | Myrta Cristina King Sale, Inter-American Development Bank | ||
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Moderator: |
Marcela Sánchez, Columnist, The Washington Post | ||
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Close: |
Gabriela Vega, Inter-American Development Bank |
Billie Miller (Barbados, Barbados Labour Party, BLP) is senior minister and minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade of Barbados. She previously served as the country’s first female deputy prime minister and has been minister of health and national insurance, education and culture, international business, and tourism and international transport.
Beatriz Paredes (Mexico, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) is president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. She was recently a candidate for mayor of Mexico City, and she has served as the governor of Tlaxcala, national senator, member of Congress, and president of Parlamento Latinoamericano.
Nemecia Achacollo Tola (Bolivia, Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is first vice president of the Bolivian Congress. An Aymara indigenous activist, she formerly served as the executive secretary of the National Federation of Peasant, Indigenous, Aboriginal Women in Bolivia, and served as an elected member of the municipal council of Santa Rosa for ten years.
Marta Lucía Ramírez (Colombia, Partido de la U) is a senator. Previously, she served as minister of defense and minister of foreign trade, and was Colombian ambassador to France.
Dayana Martínez Burke (Honduras, Partido Liberal, PL) is a member of Congress and coordinator of the Committee of Inclusion for Mexico, Canada and Central America. She was the founding president of the Federation of Disability Organizations in Honduras.
Maria Antonieta Saa (Chile, Partido por la Democracia, PPD) has been a congresswoman for four consecutive terms. She has served as vice president of the Party for Democracy (PPD) and mayor of the Municipality of Conchalí. She was president of the Constitutional Commission for the Prosecution of Augusto Pinochet.
Olga Ferreira de López (Paraguay, Partido Patria Querida, PPQ) is a congresswoman and president of the Human Rights Commission. She also serves as counsel to Parlamento Mujer.
Epsy Campbell Barr (Costa Rica) is president of Citizen Action Party (PAC). She was formerly a congresswoman, a vice-presidential candidate, and founding director of the Center for Afro-Costa Rican Women.
Anel Townsend (Peru) is a former member of the Congress of Peru.
Judith Morrison (Inter-American Foundation) is regional director for South America and Caribbean of the Inter-American Foundation. She served as a senior associate at the Inter-American Dialogue and executive director of the Inter-Agency Consultation on Race in Latin America.
Joe Clark (Canada) is former prime minister of Canada. Elected eight times to the House of Commons, he was secretary of state for external affairs from 1984-1991 and also served as minister of constitutional affairs.
Report: Women in the Americas: Paths to Political Power
Women in Power: How Presence Affects Politics
Liderazgo y participación política para las mujeres afrodescendientes
Political Parties and Women’s Leadership in Latin America
Women and Power in the Americas: A Report Card
From Persuasion to Power?: Women’s Policy Machineries in Latin America
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