After two decades of steady progress in women’s rights — including the election of women presidents in Brazil, Argentina and Chile — Latin America has one of the world’s highest representation of women in top government jobs, but a surprising new study shows that women are losing ground on several fronts in the region.
I learned about this a few days ago, when I called Alicia Bárcena, the head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), to ask about an equal rights for women campaign that her organization launched last week, called “Exige Igualdad” or “Demand Equality.”
I was curious to know why the United Nations is launching a women’s rights campaign in Latin America, when the region is often cited as a world model of progress in gender equality. Women’s labour participation in Latin America has soared by 33 per cent since 1990, more than in virtually any other region,
