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Women, power, & changing face of political representation in Latin America & the Caribbean

Editorial / Opinion Piece / Blog Post

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August 19, 2019

Women, power, & changing face of political representation in Latin America & the Caribbean

Source: IPS News

By Luis Felipe López-Calva,

Gender inequality is about power asymmetries. In the late 1970s, Robert Putnam reflected on the status of women in policy decisions in his comparative study on political elites. Quoting Elizabeth Vallance, he concluded that, “where power is, women aren’t.”.

The challenge for achieving gender equity by rebalancing power has to be addressed in different spheres: the household, the market, and society at large.

At the household-level, for example, women’s ability to make decisions about resource allocation or family planning are critical dimensions of empowerment; in the market, women’s access to economic opportunities, career advancement, and fair wages are of fundamental concern; at a society level, the main focus of this #GraphforThought, women’s capacity to influence decision-making is paramount to progress in terms of equity.

Click here to read the full article published by IPS News on 26 July 2019.

Focus areas

By Luis Felipe López-Calva,

Gender inequality is about power asymmetries. In the late 1970s, Robert Putnam reflected on the status of women in policy decisions in his comparative study on political elites. Quoting Elizabeth Vallance, he concluded that, “where power is, women aren’t.”.

The challenge for achieving gender equity by rebalancing power has to be addressed in different spheres: the household, the market, and society at large.

At the household-level, for example, women’s ability to make decisions about resource allocation or family planning are critical dimensions of empowerment; in the market, women’s access to economic opportunities, career advancement, and fair wages are of fundamental concern; at a society level, the main focus of this #GraphforThought, women’s capacity to influence decision-making is paramount to progress in terms of equity.

Click here to read the full article published by IPS News on 26 July 2019.

Focus areas