Latin American Women Face Democratic Backsliding
The commemoration of International Women's Day in 2024 will be a significant moment in many Latin American and Caribbean countries. Despite significant achievements over the decades, there is still a risk of setbacks and backlash for gender equality and women's empowerment.
General democratic decline has a specific gender aspect; the rise of authoritarianism and populism is fueled by not only nationalist and illiberal ideologies but also misogyny and conservative attitudes towards gender roles and women and girls' place in society. For many male leaders and supporters, women's movements and feminism represent negative changes that need to be stopped.
What exactly are they trying to undo? How far have we come towards gender equality in politics and democracy in the region?
Any objective assessment shows that achievements are significant, even if they are heterogeneous across and within countries. Latin America has indeed been at the forefront of promoting innovative transformations to ensure women's political participation and representation. Women's organizations, academics and politicians have pushed the boundaries of theoretical, constitutional and legal discussions on the meaning and scope of democracy, calling for “democracy parity” (gender-parity democracy). According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Americas, including Latin America and North America as well as the Caribbean, have the highest proportion of female legislators (35,1% in the region vs. 26,9% worldwide) and female speakers in legislative bodies (33.96% in Americas vs. a 23,88% global average), exceeding all other regions including Europe.. This has been partly due to early and consistent mobilization of women to demand equal representation. It has also been due to the adoption of gender-based electoral quotas and parity in legislation and constitutions. The International IDEA database on quotas shows that 17 countries have adopted legislative quotas, and two have reserved seats (Haiti and Guyana). Women have also held prominent leadership positions as heads of state in the region. Out of the 26 countries where women have led, 11 are from Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
This has been accompanied by proposals to transform the very concept of representation and democracy within countries' constitutional frameworks. These reforms aim to include the concept of gender parity, or parity-democracy, in formal constitutional texts, such as those in Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. These changes have received broad popular support. For example, in Costa Rica a recent survey showed that 92.5% of respondents agreed that the country benefits when women occupy political positions, and 67.2% supported the Electoral Tribunal's decision to ensure a 50/50 gender balance in candidates for municipal elections.
06.03.2024
General democratic decline has a specific gender aspect; the rise of authoritarianism and populism is fueled by not only nationalist and illiberal ideologies but also misogyny and conservative attitudes towards gender roles and women and girls' place in society. For many male leaders and supporters, women's movements and feminism represent negative changes that need to be stopped.
What exactly are they trying to undo? How far have we come towards gender equality in politics and democracy in the region?
Any objective assessment shows that achievements are significant, even if they are heterogeneous across and within countries. Latin America has indeed been at the forefront of promoting innovative transformations to ensure women's political participation and representation. Women's organizations, academics and politicians have pushed the boundaries of theoretical, constitutional and legal discussions on the meaning and scope of democracy, calling for “democracy parity” (gender-parity democracy). According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Americas, including Latin America and North America as well as the Caribbean, have the highest proportion of female legislators (35,1% in the region vs. 26,9% worldwide) and female speakers in legislative bodies (33.96% in Americas vs. a 23,88% global average), exceeding all other regions including Europe.. This has been partly due to early and consistent mobilization of women to demand equal representation. It has also been due to the adoption of gender-based electoral quotas and parity in legislation and constitutions. The International IDEA database on quotas shows that 17 countries have adopted legislative quotas, and two have reserved seats (Haiti and Guyana). Women have also held prominent leadership positions as heads of state in the region. Out of the 26 countries where women have led, 11 are from Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
This has been accompanied by proposals to transform the very concept of representation and democracy within countries' constitutional frameworks. These reforms aim to include the concept of gender parity, or parity-democracy, in formal constitutional texts, such as those in Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. These changes have received broad popular support. For example, in Costa Rica a recent survey showed that 92.5% of respondents agreed that the country benefits when women occupy political positions, and 67.2% supported the Electoral Tribunal's decision to ensure a 50/50 gender balance in candidates for municipal elections.
06.03.2024