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AT OAS, CHILEAN SENATOR SOLEDAD ALVEAR TALKS ABOUT
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN DEMOCRACIES IN THE AMERICAS

Chilean Senator and former Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear highlighted the progress that women in the hemisphere have made in politics, as well as the continuing challenges to achieving parity in this field, as she spoke at the Organization of American States (OAS) about “The Political Participation of Women in the Americas.”

In her remarks at the eighteenth conference in the Lecture Series of the Americas, yesterday afternoon, Alvear recognized that on a global level, gender inequality still exists in the majority of democracies. Understanding the issue of women’s inclusion in politics requires “starting from the relationship between women and society,” she said, adding that “it is in the cultural aspect of this relationship, especially in each country’s political culture, where the segregation of women in the decision-making process is reflected.”

Alvear, who has also served as her country’s Justice Minister and currently heads Chile’s Christian Democratic Party, presented a detailed historical overview of women’s participation in politics in the Americas from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. She recalled that since the creation of the first National American Women Suffrage Association in the United States in 1890, women have made considerable progress in democratic participation, including at the highest levels.

“Close to 25 women have aspired to the presidency in 13 countries of the region, four of them have reached the presidency by popular vote and another three have become president through political circumstances in their respective nations,” Alvear said, adding that there has also been a significant increase in the number of women elected at the legislative and municipal level.

“It is in this new democratizing wave that there is movement in both the public arena and the private sphere, creating an exceptional symbolic opportunity for female leadership of a socio-cultural nature, in which the role of the mother is a conscious factor in political decision-making,” she said.

In countries where women have achieved greater political participation, one of the key reasons has to do with the growing number of female voters in elections, Alvear explained. However, she added, in some countries when there are high abstention rates, women in leadership positions suffer the effects of the “apathy” of female voters. This, she warned, can harm the decision-making process and by extension the types of decisions taken by governments. Alvear emphasized that women generally give higher priority than men to issues that have to do with the family, youth and seniors.

Concluding her speech, the Chilean Senator stressed that the future of equal opportunities for women “lies in the perfecting of democracy and the search for equity and social justice, for both men and women.”
“This is the time to build a more perfect democracy, in which the universal values that sustain it are real, in which public debate revolves around civic relationships and dialogue, in which the hemisphere’s political and economic elite understand that we need responsible participation in the debate and in actions,” she said.

A lawyer with a distinguished political career, Senator Alvear was a potential candidate for the 2005 presidential elections in her country. She created Chile’s National Women’s Service and has also been an academic at several universities. She has spoken and written extensively on democracy, human rights, the family an international relations. As Minister of Justice in the administration of President Eduardo Frei, she directed the farthest-reaching judicial reform in Chile’s history. During the administration of President Ricardo Lagos, Alvear headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than four years and in that post, received awards from 13 countries.

Created by the OAS Permanent Council to promote democratic principles and values in the countries of the hemisphere, the Lecture Series of the Americas invites internationally renowned speakers to address key issues such as democracy, human rights, social development, hemispheric security and the fight against poverty. The conferences are possible thanks to financial contributions from Peru’s Martin de Porres University and the governments of Greece and Qatar.

Reference: E-018/07