News

Women are Overlooked but Important Actors in the Context of the Economic Crisis in Latin America

Date: 19 October 2009

Quito — A coordination workshop for UNIFEM programmes on women’s economic security and rights in Latin America was held in Quito in Ecuador on 12-14 October. The 40 participating specialists in the field of economics and gender focused their discussion on economic security and women’s rights in the context of the global economic crisis.

A common theme of the discussion was women’s “invisible” role as economic actors. While acknowledging women’s contributions in tackling the current and also previous economic crises in Latin America, the participants agreed that their part had been largely overlooked. Therefore, public policies and stimulation packages had failed to address women’s roles and needs as economic actors.

Raquel Coello, Regional Technical Coordinator for Gender-Responsive Budgeting, stressed that a wealth of evidence demonstrated women’s importance as key economic actors in Latin America. The global economic crisis, and earlier periods of economic strife, had made this role more evident. However, women’s roles were not yet visible in the macro figures of mainstream reports on the economic crisis.

Alison Vázconez, an academic from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), analyzed women’s role in the economy and the gendered impacts of the economic crisis. For instance, she pointed to the fact that women’s unemployment in Ecuador had increased from 7 to 11 percent between June 2008 and June 2009, further enlarging the gap between women’s and men’s unemployment. Reduced household income had consequently demanded additional unpaid work by women at home, as confirmed by time-use surveys.

For more information about UNIFEM initiatives in the area of economic security and rights in Latin America, visit www.presupuestoygenero.net or contact Raquel Coello, Regional Technical Coordinator for Gender-Responsive Budgeting, raquel.coello[at]unifem.org.