Essay On Empowerment For Women In Latin America

2738 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Latin american women gender roles

Topic: Equality and empowerment for women in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
Introduction:
Research Question: Latin America has a history of having a very patriarchal society. Over time, the area has felt some changes in respect towards women, but deep cultural values still remain in place for many. How has modernization and development effected equality and empowerment of Latin American women?
Thesis: There have been some strong advances for women in Latin America in the last two decades. More women have access to education and have opportunities to participate in politics. However, some deep-set cultural values still remain which limit still limit equality and empowerment for women in Latin America. Women are the key to development and are, in many cases sources of untapped economic potential. Eliminating gendered inequality in the region can help increase development and reduce poverty in the region.

INTRODUCE AREAS THAT HAVE SHOWN GROWTH TOWARDS EQUALITY

Political Participation
Transition/introduction- why is it important that women participate in politics
It is important for the region to increase the political participation and access of women. Increasing political participation in democratic countries will increase and strengthen the legitimacy of the government. (Desposato et al., pg. 160) There are many factors that contribute to the unequal participation in politics seen throughout the region. Studies have shown that more educated people are more likely to participate in politics. With this in mind, increasing access to education for girls in the region should lead to an increase in political participation. However, in the last decade, much has been done to increase girl’s access to education. (Desposato...

... middle of paper ...

...ics.” (Chant, 2003, pg. 10) Eva Peron, former leader of Argentina is a good example of marianismo values and political advancement. The values she endorsed, such as strong loyalty to the country and her husband as well as being the “mother of the nation” gave her political clout and power. (Chant, 2003, pg. 11)
“Violence Against Women: A Disaster Men Can Avoid”

How do you defeat traditional values/unlearn machismo?
Women as economic/development potential
Empowerment of women
“increased gender equality in Latin America and the world can, among other things: improve development outcomes for the next generation.” (Munoz, 2011)
Microfinance/microloans

Conclusion: there is still a long way to go for women in Latin America. Many positive changes bring hope to the possibility of establishing greater equality in the region. Education, politics; violence and poverty

Show More
Related

  • Women In El Salvador Essay

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, it wasn’t an effortless process for these women to gain respect. These women experienced sexism and were often discredited for their work. During the El Salvadoran Civil War, sexism was prominent. The women working in groups such as the FMLN were trying to change these perceptions, and create a more equal life for the women in El Salvador. Although sexism was still very common, the FMLN and the women involved were working very hard and their contributions were beginning to be noticed.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Underdogs

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition, these women were often subjected to control, domination, and violence by men” (Global). This validates Azuela’s stance on how women should stay within their traditional roles because fighting for equality has been ineffective even today.

    Read More

  • The Women Of Colonial Latin America By Susan Socolow

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the past few decades, research on women has gained new momentum and a great deal of attention. Susan Socolow’s book, The Women of Colonial Latin America, is a well-organized and clear introduction to the roles and experiences of women in colonial Latin America. Socolow explicitly states that her aim is to examine the roles and social regulations of masculinity and femininity, and study the confines, and variability, of the feminine experience, while maintaining that sex was the determining factor in status. She traces womanly experience from indigenous society up to the enlightenment reforms of the 18th century. Socolow concentrates on the diverse culture created by the Europeans coming into Latin America, the native women, and African slaves that were imported into the area. Her book does not argue that women were victimized or empowered in the culture and time they lived in. Socolow specifies that she does her best to avoid judgment of women’s circumstances using a modern viewpoint, but rather attempts to study and understand colonial Latin American women in their own time.

    Read More

  • Women In Mexico And The United States And Mexico

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women in Mexico and the United States of America have played an important role structuring their society and elevating their status. Between 1846 and 1930, the stereotype and position of women within these countries differed vastly from one another. While various traditional roles of women remained the same, the manner in which they were viewed differed. In many ways, women in Mexico held a higher position than those in the United States during this time.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles and Sexuality in Latin America

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Craske, N. (1999). Women and Political Identity in Latin America. In Women and Politics in Latin America (First ed., pp. 9-25). N.p.: Rutgers University Press.

    Read More

  • Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women of Chiapas

    4171 Words  | 9 Pages

    Women's reproductive health is a debated and complex issue in today's society. Nowhere is its severity more prevalent than in areas of extreme poverty such as south and Central America. The resolution to these problems is far from simple. Yet, women are increasingly taking control of their lives and forming groups to combat many of the prejudices that hold them back. However highly debated some tactics for resolution may be it is hard to miss the shear urgency with which the issues of women's rights and health call us. The fight for gender equality cannot overlook the importance of equality in health care and control over one's own body. Women's health is an issue that passes along its concerns to another generation every time a child is born.

    Read More

  • Egalitarianism In Frankenstein

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women are part of our society and their tremendous performance is not less to those of men. They are competitive and superb in diverse areas, even beyond men in some situations. They constitute half of the world’s populace. Gender inequity subsists in many countries globally. Discriminating and preventing almost half of the world’s population from attaining its complete potential is an economic irrationality. Denying girls and women equality makes them endure, as well as obstruct development of whatever is left of society. In order to ensure we develop society as a whole, it is important to cultivate gender egalitarianism throughout all areas of our civilization.

    Read More

  • Women in Latin America

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women in Latin America were expected to adhere to extreme cultural and social traditions and there were few women who managed to escape the burden of upholding these ridiculous duties, as clearly shown in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”. First, Latin American women were expected to uphold their honor, as well as their family's honor, through maintaining virtue and purity; secondly, women were expected to be submissive to their parents and especially their husbands; and lastly, women were expected to remain excellent homemakers.

    Read More

  • The Zapatista Movement

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    Indigenous people of the world have historically been and continue to be pushed to the margins of society. Similarly, women have experienced political, social, and economical marginalization. For the past 500 years or so, the indigenous peoples of México have been subjected to violence and the exploitation since the arrival of the Spanish. The xenophobic tendencies of Spanish colonizers did not disappear after México’s independence; rather it maintained the racial assimilation and exclusion policies left behind by the colonists, including gender roles (Moore 166) . México is historically and continues to be a patriarchal society. So when the Zapatista movement of 1994, more formally known as the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación National (Zapatista Army of National Liberation; EZLN) constructed a space for indigenous women to reclaim their rights, it was a significant step towards justice. The Mexican government, in haste for globalization and profits, ignored its indigenous peoples’ sufferings. Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, consisting of mostly indigenous peoples living in the mountains and country, grew frustration with the Mexican government. It was in that moment that the Zapatista movement arose from the countryside to awaken a nation to the plight of indigenous Mexicans. Being indigenous puts a person at a disadvantage in Mexican society; when adding gender, an indigenous woman is set back two steps. It was through the Zapatista movement that a catalyst was created for indigenous women to reclaim rights and autonomy through the praxis of indigeneity and the popular struggle.

    Read More

  • How Globalization Saved Peru

    1730 Words  | 4 Pages

    (Genovese 457-8) When fertility rates drop in developing countries, such as Peru, it is usually an indication that there is an increase in women's liberation. Women are no longer facing as much social pressure to have lots of children and stay home to raise them. By having fewer children, women are exposed to more opportunities for employment. The role of women as housewives and domestic servants is rapidly changing. Women in Peru have begun to experience liberation and equality, mostly due to the spread of globalization.

    Read More

  • Invitation to Sociology by Peter Berger

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.

    Read More

  • Proponent and Opponents of Globalization

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ds & Gelleny, 2007). Moreover, the status of women is independent on policy adjustments in developing countries. Governments in developing countries should organize an economically and political stable environment, to be economically attractive (Maxfield, 1998 as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Other critics state governments are forced to cut expenditures in education and social programs. This phenomenon especially affects women (Ayres and McCalla, 1997, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). Since the public sector is one of the main employers of females, women are often the most disadvantaged by governmental efforts to cut expenditures in the public sector (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2004, as cited in Richards & Gelleny, 2007). As a result, women will become unemployed and unable to expanded education among themselves or their children. (Richards & Gelleny, 2007)

    Read More

  • Women In The Spanish Colonial Era

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    The hierarchy of gender played out in the new Spanish colonial regime where female dependency upon men was created and manipulated. The Spanish introduced ‘gender beliefs that proclaimed women’s infantility; only men could reach true adulthood and enter public life, freely sign contracts, and hold public office . Women, especially those in the newly created lower class, became dependent on men due to the new legal system put in place which made it so that they could not be full citizens. Men were able to realize full ‘citizenship’ along with the ability to leave the ayllus. This newly performed hierarchy was completely contradictory to the old gender parallelism of Andean society in which each gender had independent spheres and rights to

    Read More

  • Women's Rights In Argentina Research Paper

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fact that women are discriminated against and often viewed as inferior to men is no secret. Women all over the world have struggled to gain equality. Some of the rights that women longed for included better treatment at work and home, higher education, and parental authority. Many women in Latin America had conflicting views about certain women’s rights such as suffrage and divorce. While some progress has been made, Argentine women continue to fight for their rights with the help of important leaders and organizations because certain rights are still denied and violence against women continues to be a huge issue.

    Read More

  • Gender Equity in the 21st Century

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ntries women are restricted in where they can and cannot work. Most commonly, they seem to be restricted from jobs in which physically taxing tasks are the norm. This is no doubt due to the stereotype that women are fragile and weak and must be protected (a stereotype that can hold true, but that is not always true). This also seems to be consistent across culture. However, despite the fact that these restrictions were enacted to protect women, they place heavy limitations on women’s opportunities. Furthermore, these are not the only injustices many women across the world face. However, the only way to fight these injustices is to increase women’s participation in politics, as discussed in the UN report from 2008. It is absolutely vital that women be able to actively participate in politics without letting gender discrimination and stereotypes get in the way.

    Read More

More about Essay On Empowerment For Women In Latin America

Open Document