The EU EUROsociAL+ Programme has assisted the Ministry of the Interior and the Honourable Chamber of Deputies of the Nation of Argentina in this process that aims to generate data to be able to adjust the institutional designs to achieve true parity democracy.
Foto: Ministerio del Interior de Argentina
Today, the Secretary for Political Affairs, Patricia García Blanco; and the under-secretary of the same area, Victoria Tesoriero, representing the Ministry of the Interior led by Wado de Pedro, presented the Observatory on Parity Democracy in the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation (HCDN), a joint initiative with the General Directorate of Equality of the HCDN, which aims to generate data and to be able to adjust institutional designs to achieve true parity democracy.
“The Ministry of the Interior is working constantly to consolidate women’s political rights in the areas of the State, and this Observatory is a fundamental tool that allows us to monitor and evaluate how parity and the representation of women, girls and LGTBI people in our country is working. It will also show us which modifications we must make for greater equality in our powers,” highlighted García Blanco in the framework of the International Seminar “Parity Democracy and Political Representation of Women”, which was held this morning in the Chamber of Deputies four years after the approval of Law No. 27412.
In this regard, she underlined the enactment of the Gender Parity Law in the realm of Political Representation, because “today it meant that 50% of senators are women, and in the Chamber of Deputies, 48% of legislators; and that political parties should include the participation of women,” adding that “there is still much work to be done.”
“In the last elections, only 33% of the lists of national deputies were headed by women; of 1,139 municipalities, only 140 have female mayors and there only 44% of councillors are women,” the official said during the meeting organised with the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, Deputies and EUROsociAL+.
Tesoriero called for further work to “further the transformation of the State,” stressing that the Observatory “not only adds data on participation in the legislature but in all powers.”
“The Argentine State did not report data on participation by women in politics in the different spheres; we only had some reports on access to the Chamber of Deputies. We decided to create this Observatory with the HCDN and with advice and technical assistance from EUROsociAL+ to provide data at all levels: not only in terms of numbers, but also qualitative data on the degree of participation of women and people from sexual diversity. It would be a mistake not to discuss and extend parity; the discussion of parity is about power and the construction of the State, and when women are present, we change the perspective of management,” said Tesoriero.
The Observatory’s general objective is to generate data that allow the systematic monitoring of parity in Argentina, in order to adjust institutional design to achieve a true parity democracy.
It also seeks to satisfy the data needs of a broad public – from academics to civil society organisations – to assist with the social monitoring of parity and for academic research.
National deputies Silvia Lospenatto, Jimena López and Mónica Macha participated in the Seminar, together with presidential advisor, Dora Barrancos; the Secretary for Equality and Diversity Policies of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, María Cristina Perceval; the director of the EUROsociAL+ Gender Equality Area, Ana Pérez Camporeale; the advisor on International Cooperation – Delegation of the European Union in Argentina, Victoria Giussani; and the advisor to the Under-Secretariat for Political Affairs of the Nation, Yamila Picasso, among other guests.
Source: Peruvian Ministry of the Interior
