With a call to move towards a society of care to achieve a sustainable recovery with gender equality in Latin American and Caribbean countries, the XV Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean with the participation of the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.
The event, organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in coordination with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), brings together government representatives until Friday , from United Nations and intergovernmental agencies, academia and civil society, in particular women’s and feminist movements. It is the main United Nations regional intergovernmental forum on women’s rights and gender equality, which this year celebrates its 45th anniversary.
“Feminism has transformed everything in recent years,” said President Alberto Fernández at the beginning of his speech, noting that “the only thing this government has done is join the demands for equality.” The president reflected that “the logic of equality is simply the logic of giving happiness” and valued some achievements of his Government such as the creation of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, the expansion of sexual and reproductive rights and the implementation of policies aimed at the LGBTI+ population, among others.
“Have we achieved everything we wanted? No, definitely not,” she said, acknowledging challenges regarding the pay gap, working conditions for domestic workers, and rights for people who do unpaid care work. “You have to understand that there is an end to the cycle, some call it patriarchy, others machismo. The only thing I know is that the time of inequality between men and women is over. And although much progress has been made in this transition, there is still a long way to go and we are still a long way from meeting the objectives we have set for ourselves,” concluded President Fernández.
“We have a responsibility, through this Regional Conference on Women, to change the narrative and transform the current development model. The proposal is to move towards a society of care as a horizon for a sustainable recovery with gender equality,” said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, who stressed that “the evidence shows us that achieving gender equality, women’s autonomy and the right to care is a central part of the solution to the cascading crises, an essential factor for the economic recovery of the region and for the construction of the equitable and sustainable development model to which all we aspire and want”.
Also speaking at the inauguration were Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, in his capacity as the country that holds the outgoing Presidency of the Regional Conference (by video); Ayelén Mazzina, Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity of Argentina; Antonia Orellana, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile; María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean of UN Women; and Claudia Mojica, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Argentina (who read a message from the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres).
During her speech, Ayelén Mazzina, Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity of Argentina, indicated that “as a country we propose to take advantage of this instance to move towards a society of care, while we are committed to generating a true meeting space, to strengthen commitments that deepen what has been achieved in these 45 years of history of the Regional Conference and the Regional Gender Agenda. We propose as a priority objective to promote a paradigm shift that prioritizes the sustainability of life and that advances to a new development model in which women and LGBTI+ are positioned as central actors”.
“We delivered the presidency of the Conference with concrete advances in the regional gender agenda, particularly in terms of gender mainstreaming at all levels of the State. Today we come to recognize the 45 years of this instance with the conviction of moving forward and not going backwards, as well as highlighting the importance of strengthening and designing comprehensive care systems that consider the responsibility of the State, communities, families, the private sector and not only of women”, emphasized Antonia Orellana, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile.
“Care systems are a tool to ensure the economic empowerment of women. It is not just about numbers, econometrics and statistics: it is about building a new development model, a new way of building a society that puts women at the center. It is about claiming that there is a right to care”, highlighted María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean of UN Women.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, through a message read by Claudia Mojica, Resident Coordinator in Argentina, stressed that the Regional Conference on Women “offers the countries of the region a unique platform to share experiences and assume commitments to promote national systems of care and contribute to a transformative recovery that benefits all people”.
The theme of the event in Argentina “reminds us of the compelling need to invest in the care economy, and to address care responsibilities that too often fall disproportionately on the shoulders of women and girls,” Guterres said. .
Through a video message, Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, also highlighted the role of the Regional Conference on Women “which has borne so much fruit for the struggle of women in Latin America and the world.” “Today, the challenges are set, for example, in the creation, in our country, of a national care system and in the problems of care in Latin America and the world, which have historically relapsed, due to the macho culture of the one we come from, in women. We are determined to advance in its visibility, in its valorization and also in its socialization”, affirmed the president and expressed the importance of building networks in the region to advance in that direction.
During the opening of the meeting, the need to move towards a caring society in which people are cared for, those who are cared for, which considers inter-care and self-care, as well as care for the planet, was raised. This requires, among other things, promoting social and fiscal pacts to implement comprehensive social protection systems, offer quality care services and ensure the financial sustainability of care policies.
The program of the XV Regional Conference on Women being held in Argentina includes the launch of various documents with policy recommendations, a high-level debate on the caring societythematic panels on care financing Y planet care and a round table on co-responsibility of carein addition to 30 side eventsthe Feminist Forum and the Parliamentary Forum, among other activities.
Follow the meeting with the hashtags #XVConferenciaMujerALC and #SociedadDelCuidado
