The Canadian Section of the
Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA) was invited to send a
delegation to the National Assembly of Ecuador, to attend a Meeting of the FIPA
Group of Women Parliamentarians, entitled “Women in Power: Challenges for the
21st Century”. The Canadian parliamentary delegation was led by the
Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette, Senator, and was accompanied by Ms. Bonnie
Crombie, M.P., and Ms. Denise Savoie, M.P. The Secretary to the Delegation was
Mr. Leif-Erik Aune.
THE MEETING
This meeting of the FIPA Group of Women
Parliamentarians of the Americas was divided into five plenary sessions, each
of which was moderated by a leading expert or community leader. Sessions
provided expert presentations, facilitated panel discussions or general
discussions involving the assembly.
Opening Ceremony
The Meeting was opened by His
Excellency Rafael Correa Delgado, Constitutional President of the Republic of
Ecuador. Welcoming remarks were made by His Excellency Fernando Cordero Cueva,
President of the National Assembly of Ecuador. Introductory remarks and
observations on the recent work undertaken by the FIPA Group of of Women
Parliamentarians of the Americas were made by the Honourable Céline
Hervieux-Payette, Senator and Member of the Executive Committee of FIPA, Mr.
Juan Velásquez, Manager of Operations, United Nations Development Funds for
Women (UNIFEM) – Andean Region, and Ms. Linda Machuca Moscoso, Member of the
National Assembly of Ecuador and Chair of the Group of Women Parliamentarians
of the Americas. Ms. Machuca warmly welcomed the assembly and extended her
best wishes for a positive and enriching dialogue over the course of the
two-day meeting.
Session 1—The Situation of Women’s
Rights in the Hemisphere: A Critical Look at National Legislations
This session was moderated by Ms. María
Estela de la Cruz, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican
Republic. A presentation was made by Dr. Roxana Arroyo, Researcher at the
United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and
Treatment of Offenders and Associate Professor of Latin American Studies. This
session focused on legislated requirements for gender equality in elected
representation. Several countries in the Americas have passed into law the
requirement for a percentage of seats to be reserved for women within their
national legislatures. Countries such as Cuba, Argentina and Ecuador are
increasing these minimum levels on gradual basis, toward full gender equality.
It was argued that participation by women in the political process would not
reach full equality without legal measures, as there are structural impediments
to participation by women inherent in the political system. Data from the
United Nations, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other sources were reviewed
and discussed, providing a quantitative analysis of participation by women in
legislatures. It was revealed that the global average percentage of
participation by women in both upper and lower chambers of national
legislatures was 19.2%, whereas the average within the region of the Americas
was 23.1%. Beyond this, members of the assembly asserted that there were
cultural impediments in some regions and countries of the Americas that made
women feel generally reluctant to enter politics.
Session 2—Women, Politics and Diversity
This session was moderated by the
Honourable Adriana González Carrillo, Senator from Mexico. Discussions were
led by Ms. Enoé Uranga, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Ms. Aluki
Rojas, Deputy Minister for Inter-Governmental Affairs from the Government of
the Territory of Nunavut, Ms. Angela Guimarães, Counselor of the National Youth
Council of Brazil, and Ms. Otilia Lux, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of
Guatemala. It became apparent, from the presentations and subsequent
discussion that experiences varied greatly across the Americas. Canadian
delegates observed that a common experience in Latin-American sub-regions was
that male-dominance in society had the effect of preventing women from entering
politics across all socio-economic and ethnic segments of society.
Session 3—Assessing the Application of
Positive Actions to Improve Women’s Participation
This session was moderated by Ms.
Karina Beteta Rubín, Member of the Congress of Peru. Presentations were made by
Ms. Annunciatta Valdéz, President of the Foundation Equity and Development and
Regional Sub-Director of Participación Ciudadana of Ecuador, Ms. Gina Godoy,
Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador, and Ms. Cecilia Ayllón Quintero,
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia. This session presented the
countries of Ecuador and Bolivia as case studies for sharing best practices.
Discussions following the presentations brought to light systemic differences in
the approaches of countries to take positive action toward increasing the
participation by women in politics. Many countries allow political candidates
to receive funds from sources that would be illegal in the Canadian context.
While the practice legally limiting election spending is enshrined in Canadian
legislation, it was seen as a wrongful deterrent to the entry by women
candidates. Other meeting participants took issue with the practice of using
public funds to subsidize the participation of political parties. Ultimately,
laws on access to the political process varied greatly from country to country,
and this in turn was seen to yield an impact to the participation by women.
Session 4—Exercising Power: The
Experience of a Woman Politician
This session was moderated by Ms. María
Paula Romo, Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador. A presentation was
made by the Honourable María Cristina Perceval, former Senator from Argentina.
Ms. Perceval shared her experiences from her time in politics and invited the
assembly to engage in follow-up discussion, focusing on differences and
similarities of life in politics over the last 20 years.
Session 5—Women in Politics and the
Media: A Troubled Relationship?
This session was moderated by the
Honourable Rosemary Mathurin, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia.
This general discussion session was introduced by Ms. Cecilia Medina, Professor
of Social Communication at the University of Central Ecuador. Focusing on the
effects of media in constructing the image of women, the assembly generally
agreed that media was a powerful tool that was invaluable to advancing the
cause of gender equality. However, it was also noted that mainstream views of
women in society paid less than adequate deference to deserving attributes.
Closing Session and Final Remarks
Ms. Linda Machuca Moscoso, Member of
the National Assembly of Ecuador and Chair of the Group of Women
Parliamentarians of the Americas presented closing remarks and thanked the
meeting organizers, guest speakers and the meeting participants. Her final
remarks reflected on the importance of continued conscious efforts by all
parliaments to increase the representation of women. She further encouraged
parliaments to continue supporting forums for discussion and exchange.
The participants were invited to
approve a list of recommendations that were noted throughout the two-day
Congress. A report of eleven recommendations was produced and is presented in
the annex. The participants were invited to present the report in their
respective parliaments. They were also encouraged to use this list as an action
plan and follow-up strategy in their parliaments to measure the progress on the
inclusion of gender-based initiatives.
CONCLUSION
This visit provided an excellent
opportunity for the Canadian Section of FIPA to actively participate, with
counterparts of many countries of the Americas, in discussions on gender
equality in legislation, a subject of common interest. The Canadian Section
also felt that the activity allowed the participant to make contact with her
counterparts in the Parliaments of several countries to exchange ideas and
perspectives on other issues.
It was agreed that increasing
participation by women in legislatures was important to ensuring that elected
representatives accurately reflect the full diversity of constituencies.
Despite gains in participation by women over the course of the 20th
Century, the assembly concluded that more work must be done in the 21st
Century to overcome what appears to be a level of stagnation in the pursuit of
full gender equality.
Finally, the Canadian delegation would
like to thank the Technical Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the
Americas and the National Assembly of Ecuador for their tremendous work in
ensuring the success of the event.
Respectfully submitted,
Randy Hoback, M.P.
Chair, Canadian Section
of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum
of the Americas (FIPA)