Backgrounder - Women as agents of change in the Americas

Gender equality in the region

Latin American countries have made great strides toward reducing gender inequalities in recent decades. Important achievements have been made in basic indicators relating to the health, life expectancy and education of women and girls. Women’s political participation has also increased and they have gained a greater foothold in the labour market.

However, cultural and patriarchal attitudes in Latin America continue to define gender roles, competencies and inequalities. Women generally lack access to productive resources and the ability to engage in decision-making.

There are many governments committed to gender equality and they have signed on to numerous global agreements.^{Footnote 1} All governments in the region have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and more than half of the countries have ratified the 1999 CEDAW Optional Protocol. There are also region-specific accords and the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean that have validated the commitments in the Beijing Platform for Action and put them into a regional context.^{Footnote 2} Member states of the Organization of American States adopted a variety of declarations and plans of action that call for the integration of a gender perspective in policies and programs and strengthened institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women. To varying degrees, these international and regional commitments are reflected in national legislation. Throughout the region, however, there is a gap between national commitments to gender equality and implementation, in addition to limited availability of gender statistics.

The region also has the highest levels of inequities in the world. Poverty remains a serious challenge, as persistent economic and social inequality disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable, such as indigenous populations and Afro-descendants. Women and girls in indigenous communities and minorities suffer from double discrimination.

The Latin American and Caribbean region is also very vulnerable to climate change and is already experiencing its destabilizing effects in dramatic and costly ways. Climate change is disproportionately affecting women and the most marginalized groups. It is disrupting livelihoods, threatening to undermine development gains and exacerbating existing social inequalities in the region. In the face of climate change, women are invaluable repositories of community knowledge and are critical to designing and developing strategic policy responses.

Canada’s regional engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean

Canada’s actions in Latin America and the Caribbean are aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, taking into account the region’s commitments to the agenda as expressed in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development and in final declaration of the 2018 Summit of the Americas, held in Lima, Peru. In doing so, Canada is working to address increased activism in the region against the advancement of women’s rights, gender equality and LGBTI rights.

By prioritizing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, Canada supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality, as well as the achievement of all other SDGs. SDG 5 seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Canada’s Inter-American Program focuses on issues that are best addressed at the regional or multi-country level, where economies of scale can be achieved. Regional efforts are complementary to bilateral initiatives and deal with transboundary issues from a regional perspective.

The program has achieved significant successes in international development to date. Some examples include:

• supporting system strengthening to effectively manage economic data in countries, incorporating social inclusion in regulations and working with vocational institutions and professionals;
• investing in the rights of women, their participation in politics, legal authority and access to justice, therefore creating an enabling environment for civil society; and
• training 2,200 health care professionals to deliver integrated care with an equitable and intercultural focus.

Feminist International Assistance Policy

The Inter-American Development Program is grounded in the principles of Canada’s Feminist International Development Assistance Policy, which includes the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls, increased participation of women and girls in decision making and providing women and girls equitable access to and control over social and economic resources.

Canada’s feminist approach to international assistance recognizes that the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women require a transformation of social norms and power relations. Canada’s vision for gender equality means that women and men enjoy the same status and equal conditions for realizing their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development, and to benefit from the results. Key principles of the Feminist International Development Assistance Policy include:

• Human rights based and inclusive: Initiatives must work to ensure that all people enjoy the same fundamental human rights regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability or any other aspect of identity.
• Transformative and activist: Unequal power relations, systemic discrimination and harmful norms and practices are challenged as a broad range of stakeholders—including men and boys—are engaged.
• Evidence based: This involves informed gender-based analyses and clear accountabilities for planning, achieving and tracking and reporting on gender equality results, which includes a focus on sex- and age-disaggregated targets.

Women as agents of change in the Americas

The call for preliminary proposals engages in three action areas under the Feminist International Development Assistance Policy:

1. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (sexual and gender-based violence focus):

The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) affirms that every woman “has the right to be free from violence in the public and private spheres. It has been ratified by 32 governments in the Americas. A number of national action plans on violence against women have also been developed. There also appears to be increased reporting of incidents of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and there is more media coverage and awareness in the region of the issues in general. Despite these gains, however, according to the Center of Strategic and International Studies, rates of gender-based violence in Latin America are among the highest in the world and femicide also appears to be on the rise. At least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2017.^{Footnote 3} Contributing factors include traditional attitudes, harmful practices and stereotypes of masculinity, economic challenges, the inability of women to access their rights and protections, and the inability of justice systems to respond to crimes and to defend women.

The Feminist International Development Assistance Policy seeks to address the high rates of SGBV experienced by women and girls and those who have other gender identities. Comprehensive approaches are required to effectively address the multifaceted and complex situation of SGBV in the region.

The call will consider initiatives that address transforming harmful behaviours that can have negative consequences for all genders, including:

• enhancing the institutional capacities and accountability measures within the public sector (judicial/legal/security) to develop gender-relevant policies, laws and programs;
• enhancing capacities to advocate for and advance human rights (including regional bodies, media and other stakeholders);
• supporting women’s rights (and other rights-based) organizations and coalitions through alliance building to better address priorities of women and girls in the region;
• improving services to address key aspects of SGBV for survivors and their families; and
• supporting livelihood, skills development and leadership opportunities for women to better exert their rights related to SGBV.

2. Growth that works for everyone (economic empowerment):

Despite the growth of women’s participation in the labour force in the region, women continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty: they shoulder a greater workload than men and their working conditions tend to be more unstable than men’s. On average, women do four times as much unpaid work compared to men.^{Footnote 4} Additionally, women in the region account for more than half of all people who migrate in search of employment, with more than half of these women working as domestic workers in the countries of destination.
Empowering women to be full participants in the economic lives of their families and communities can lead to broader economic growth and lasting change. The call supports full and equal participation of women as economic actors. By engaging in this action area, it will address multidimensional types of discrimination against women, giving women the opportunities to succeed with greater control over resources and within decision-making processes.

The call will consider initiatives that include:

• supporting gender equality policies and frameworks that support women’s economic participation, including ensuring that women have greater access to and control over resources such as land, housing and capital;
• supporting labour rights and social protections from precarious work situations; and
• addressing the burden of unpaid work, including access to child care, labour market reforms and increased work flexibility.

3. Inclusive governance (leadership):

Women’s political representation in the region has improved with the share of nationally elected seats held by women in Latin America reaching approximately 25%.^{Footnote 5} However, key issues remain, including the role and effectiveness of quotas, the status of women in political parties, women’s participation and capacity to engage in local politics, as well as the enabling environment and supports for them to succeed. Society is more prosperous, peaceful, secure and united when women’s rights are respected, their voices are heard and they can exercise leadership. As role models, women can help transform attitudes in society and in the home. Their presence in government also leads to better decision making.

The call looks at opportunities to promote women’s equitable role in governance, which include:

• exploring opportunities that sustain and broaden women’s gains in political engagement and participation;
• strengthening the effectiveness of women’s engagement and leadership in the policy-making process;
• increasing women’s representation in management in state institutions, public institutions and civil-society organizations; and
• engaging women’s rights organizations and movements in governance processes as they represent key agents of change.

Coordination, collaboration and gender integration: Principles of engagement

The call encourages collaboration with all actors that have a role to play in building a world where gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is achieved: civil society, local and women’s organizations, philanthropic foundations, developing-country governments at all levels, the private sector and emerging official donors. The call also seeks innovative partnerships and greater investments in research, as well as closer collaboration with Canadian universities and other research institutions.

The Government of Canada committed to using Gender-based Analysis Plus as an analytical tool to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. This is also an opportunity to seek out new ways of working and to establish new partnerships that can increase the effectiveness of Canada’s development efforts and strengthen results in support of gender equality and empowerment in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

To the extent possible, all preliminary proposals should address key feminist principles as outlined in the Feminist International Development Assistance Policy. These should be addressed first in the design and implementation, and then the monitoring, evaluation and learning of the project, with an aim to capture and document transformative changes in power dynamics achieved throughout the project’s life cycle.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that their preliminary proposal clearly demonstrates the rationale for the proposed initiative, including the:

1. specific challenge that the proposed project would address;
2. relevance of this challenge within the proposed geographic scope and/or target population;
3. methodology that will be used to address the identified challenge;
4. ways in which the proposed project will address the structural and root causes of gender inequality; and
5. ways in which the proposed project is innovative.

Additional definitions:

By “accountability”, and in the context of this call, Global Affairs Canada means the reporting process with regard to the use of powers and resources allocated to state institutions. Individuals have access to information on policies, decisions and on the use of funds, and are empowered to hold accountable those who have a duty to act. State and non-state actors comply with their applicable obligations and responsibilities.

By “capacity”, Global Affairs Canada includes many concepts, such as resources (technology, funds, staff, equipment, infrastructure, etc.) knowledge, ability, skills, awareness, attitudes, aspirations, willingness, motivations and processes.

By “citizen participation”, Global Affairs Canada refers to the means by which a community makes its voice heard in decisions that affect it and that have an impact on its living conditions, and on the health and well-being of its members. Community participation enables people to take ownership of issues and discuss solutions in collaboration with the relevant authorities. It involves development by and with, rather than solely for, communities.

By “consortium”, Global Affairs Canada means a group of at least two organizations or institutions (not counting the local partner) that combine their expertise and resources for the purpose of submitting a joint application.

By “gender equality”, Global Affairs Canada means that women and men enjoy the same status and equal conditions for realizing their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development, and to benefit from the results.

By “innovation”, Global Affairs Canada means any solution that has the potential to address an important development problem more substantially and/or more effectively than existing approaches. In this call, innovation can include, but is not limited to, new partnerships, policy practices, technologies, insights into social behaviours, ways of providing goods and services, public awareness and engagement activities, and ways of getting men and boys involved in activities that benefit and empower women and girls.