Being a Woman and Power: Unresolved Issues in the Struggle for Gender Parity in Politics

Many years later, in Women’s Day we can talk about problems rather than absences. While there is still a long way to go, with the approval of the parity reform and policy rotation in 2019, the Congress of the Republic has reached a historic 49 legislators in the current parliamentary period.

The new century brought with it the first female President of Peru, Dina Boluarte. Before her, they passed through leading public places such as Marianella Ledesma in the Constitutional Court as its first chairman; Elvia Barrios in the judiciary; And Patricia Benavidez in the public ministry. We also had women chairmen of the Council of Ministers as Violet Bermudez and a short step in position Mirta Vasquezas President of Congress in the previous administration, and also in the later Maria del Carmen Alva.

But the law of parity and alternation is not enough. Larisa Rojas, Director National Network of Women’s Authorities of Peru, argues that a modification is being promoted that also provides for regional governments, male-dominated spaces. “ANDWe currently have a large number of representative women in regional governments. [como vicegobernadoras]but not in municipal governments. That is why work is underway to change this law so that in the next elections parity and rotation can be given in municipal governments. It must begin at the head and continue like this, male and female; and if not, then women and men, because we all deserve equal opportunities,” says Rojas.

cruel times

Since the turn of the century, women have assumed greater prominence in public positions and in private spaces. According to political scientist Paula Tavara, in Peru this has made it normal for women to take top leadership positions even in difficult times like the one the country is going through. “That’s why [hoy en día] we can see the chairman of the Council of Ministers, the chairman of the judiciary, national prosecutors, and now, with a certain norm, the president of the republic. So that we can understand that we occupy different roles in society and this is valuable. The turbulent times in which these leadership positions were taken speaks to women’s confidence in being able to perform tasks in difficult situations,” she explains.

Despite this, according to Servir and INEI, the gender gap in Peru is large. D.In the field of government, University of the Pacific professor Carla Gavigno explains that the state has tried to bet on meritocracy. Work that, in his opinion, should be continued. “We hope that the joint cabinets will maintain continuity, including women in sectors where they are not normally called upon, and that efforts will continue to close the gap in women’s participation in the leadership of public institutions.”

And he continues: “For the first time we have a woman as President of the Republic, and among her main tasks is to achieve consensus and reduce social conflict, for which one could approach the characteristics more associated with female leadership, such as dialogue and empathy. be a better strategy than the conventional, more militaristic one that has prevailed.”

While we have made progress, there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of parity and rotation. The path that has already begun continues to grow in the name of equality.