WOMEN, GENDER, AND EMPOWERMENT

RESOURCES Modern Latin America chs. 7, 11 (Colombia, Chile) Htun, “Women and Democracy” (CR #3) Video” “In Women’s Hands”

STEREOTYPES Powerless in a macho world Passivity, docility Focus on family, children Lack of interest in politics and public sphere Marianismo (a controversial concept)

WOMEN’S INTERESTS Feminine or feminist? Practical interests = position within gendered division of labor Strategic interests = alternative social codes deriving from broad analysis of women’s subordination Difference from U.S. interests in economic equality (e.g., glass ceiling) and sexual liberation; emphasis on distinctiveness of womanhood

WOMEN AND AUTHORITARIANISM Compliance: courtship by dictators Opposition: merger of practical and strategic interests Articulation of demands: Mothers (and Grandmothers) of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina Arpilleristas in Chile “militant motherhood” in Brazil Pro-democratic, left-of-center orientation

WOMEN IN TRANSITIONS TOWARD DEMOCRACY Urgency of institutional agenda > concern for gender-related issues Backlog of impatient men Gender identity giving way to partisan affiliation Loss of solidarity

SOURCES OF EMPOWERMENT Participation in labor force (23 % in 1970, 35% by 2000) Education (half of university students) Significant share of electorate Desire for change (and attitudes about women’s superiority in selected issue-areas) International reputation (?)

Women in Latin American Legislatures, 1990-2010 WOMEN (AS % TOTAL)* Country 1990 2000 2010 Argentina 5 27 39 Bolivia 9 12 25 Brazil 5 6 9 Chile 6 11 14 Colombia 9 12 -- Ecuador 7 15 32 El Salvador -- 10 19 Guatemala 7 9 12 Mexico 12 16 26 Paraguay 4 3 13 Peru 6 20 28 Uruguay 6 12 15 Venezuela 10 10 -- — = not available.

ON QUOTAS To be effective, must be: Most congenial electoral systems: Obligatory Placement mandate Cost for non-compliance Most congenial electoral systems: Proportional representation Closed party lists Large districts (i.e., deputies per district)

LEGISLATURES Gain of 35 %, from 14 to 19 % (2000-2006) USA = 17 % World average = 18.6%

VOTING PATTERNS Traditional “gender gap” Women’s issues More conservative than men Chile 1999: Right garnered 51% of women votes, Concertación 49%; Right got only 46% of male votes, Concertación 54% Right is now appealing to traditional family values Women’s issues Rarely top-priority campaign platforms Success in agenda-setting > policy implementation “Women, in order to be important politically, can’t talk about gender issues”

ABORTION Central issue on feminist agenda Still prohibited in several countries (including Uruguay and Chile) Common: permitted “if health or life of mother at risk” (as certified by…..) Available on demand: Cuba Mexico City (DF, under leftist PRD)

WOMEN PRESIDENTS Generation I: Widows Isabel Martínez de Perón (Argentina) Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (Nicaragua) Mireya Moscoso (Panama) Generation II: Self-Made Politicians Michelle Bachelet (Chile) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (Argentina) Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica) Dilma Rousseff (Brazil)

Comparisons with the United States?

CONTRASTS WITH USA Issues: Feminism and Women’s Interests Glass ceiling vs. household survival Sexual liberation vs. domestic violence Power-seeking vs. pro-human rights Middle class vs. popular level Social Movements and Political Parties Stridency vs. incrementalism Autonomous social movements or established parties Gender gap in voting Confrontation with authoritarian rulers Ambiguities of democratic rule Representation in legislatures, cabinets, executive positions?