Committee: United Nations Economic & Social Council

Topic: Status of Women Post 2015 action plan

Country: Argentine Republic

Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all
sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different
behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favored. Gender equality and
womens empowerment isnt a part of development but the core of development. Progress cannot be
delivered in a society where half the voices are silent and, or subjected to domestic violence, poor family
behavior and societal abuse. For societies to thrive, women and girls must have access to education,
healthcare, and technology. They must have control of resources, lands, and markets. And they must have
equal rights and equal opportunities as breadwinners, peace-builders and leaders. The United Nations
Gender Inequality Index is based on the premise that "all too often, women and girls are discriminated
against in health, education and the labor market with negative repercussions for their freedom". The UN
GII is a measure of inequalities based on these inequalities.

Argentina has a GII value of 0.381, ranking it 74 out of 149 countries in the 2013 index. In Argentina,
37.7 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 57.0 percent of adult women have reached at
least a secondary level of education compared to 54.9 percent of their male counterparts. For every
100,000 live births, 77.0 women die from pregnancy related causes; and the adolescent birth rate is 54.4
births per 1000 live births. Female participation in the labor market is 47.3 percent compared to 75.0 for
men. Women in the workplace earn 98 percent of what men do in Argentina. The percentage of female
representation in the Argentine National Legislature has grown from 4.3 percent in 1983 to 33.7 percent
in 2005. The country is ranked 15th in the world for female participation in national legislation.

Argentina has a history of female leaders, as well as internationally recognized images that symbolize the
heavy participation of women in the political, social, and domestic fields. These range from the beloved
Eva Peron, the most remembered and influential Argentine first lady, to the present president Cristina
Fernndez de Kirchner. However, despite their inclusion in politics and business, Argentinean women are
still shadowed by the historically traditional, Catholic influence, and patriarchal culture.

Promoting gender equality improves society and also the government. An extra year of secondary school
for girls can increase their future earnings by 10-20 percent. Girls with secondary schooling are up to 6
times less likely to marry as children than those with little or no education. And countries that invest in
girls education have lower maternal and infant deaths, lower rates of HIV and AIDS, and better child
nutrition. When women participate in civil society and politics, governments are more open, democratic
and responsive to citizens. When women are at the negotiating table, peace agreements are more inclusive
and durable.

The United Nations echoes this view, like COMMIT, which aims to encourage countries to adopt new
policies to protect abused victims, collects a fund for gender equality and formulates policies promoting
equality such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In July 2010, the United Nations General
Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of
Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organizations goals on
gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The first step to be taken by a government should be to repeal laws and policies that discriminate against
women. Employers (in the public and private sector) must introduce programmes, which ensure the
representation of women in all professions and job grades, at equal pay and guarantees maternity rights.
Female abuse - physically, emotionally, financially, and sexually, is a serious social problem in our
communities. The Justice system should include new protections against all forms of woman abuse. For
example, laws against rape and domestic violence have to be strengthened and the police and courts
should have new mandates to deal with violence against women. Dialogue to develop partnerships on
gender equality is needed when agencies are developing country assistance strategies. Activities which
have been specifically designed to promote gender equality, by strengthening local womens
organizations to set and carry out their own agenda for equality, show the strongest evidence of strategic
and sustainable changes in gender relations. Effective strategies include support for womens analytical,
networking and organizational capacity, and support for womens advocacy activities with men in local
political and social institutions. Accountability of government agencies to civil society is critical for
making progress towards gender equality. . In some projects, using female staff, extension agents and
womens groups has helped to target women effectively, to facilitate womens participation, and to ensure
that they have access to programme and project resources.