President Alberto Fernández signed a “presidential instruction” so that the designation in the superior positions of the Ministries of the national Government “adopt, as a guiding criterion, the principle of gender equity”, according to official sources.
According to a document to which Télam was able to access, before each designation of “superior authorities”, the ministers and secretaries in charge of the area they must submit a report in which gender participation is accounted for and how it will be affected with the proposed appointment.
Coincidentally, in an act held on Friday afternoon on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in ScienceFernández himself considered that “after two decades of the 21st century, it is inadmissible to live in a society that discriminates, that postpones, that does not give a person the same opportunities based on their gender.”
“Today we are taking a symbolic step” and stated that “this symbolism occurs in the house where Argentina is governed and it is a message for everyone: from the Government we do not want more discrimination and we want to value the contribution of women to development of our society,” said the Head of State at noon leading an act in which the Hall of Scientists of the House of Government was renamed the Hall of Argentine Science and the number of personalities honored was increased as a contribution to contribute to gender equality and to recognize the historical journey of women in the field of science and technology.
The details of the decision
Casa Rosada sources consulted by this agency commented that, with regard to the Executive Power, although there are already Ministries with a balance between men and women, there are others where the proportions are “almost 90% against 10%”.
That is why, from now on, the ministers must detail the reason for the appointment and, if they do not contribute to the aforementioned balance, they will have to argue the reason for that decision.
Based on the evaluation of the report that is presented, the appointment may be accepted or rejected.they added this afternoon in Balcarce 50.
They also commented that the areas in which gender equity is not being respected are those of Agriculture, Transportation, the General Secretariat, and the Economic and Social Council.
what happens today
On the other hand, if the Ministries and Secretariats that respond directly to the Presidency are taken into account, currently only four are headed by a woman: Carla Vizzotti in Health, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta in Gender, Vilma Ibarra at the head of the Legal and Technical Secretariat, and Gabriela Cerruti in charge of the government spokesperson.
“The President knows there is such a problem in the Cabinet as well. It is true that the appointment of a minister responds to other dynamics, but if there are changes at some point, I would also take it into account,” the sources indicated.
Among the recitals of the new instruction, it is stated that for the Government “which works with the commitment to build a more egalitarian society that promotes the integral autonomy of all people, without establishing hierarchies, the participation of women at all levels is fundamental”.
In this sense, it points out that “fostering the effective participation of women is directly related to reducing those unequal power relations that perpetuate gender stereotypes that generate discrimination and violence.”
Although since the creation of the Ministry of Women in 2019 various initiatives have been implemented, such as the creation of the Cabinet for the Mainstreaming of Gender Policiesthe new regulations are the first to impose formal criteria for the appointment of officials in the Executive Power of the Nation.
“We work every day to reduce the inequality gaps between genders in all areas. We are aware that there are great challenges to guarantee parity in the areas of political representation and that the national cabinet is no exception. The Presidential Instruction materializes the commitment that the President assumed months ago so that there is a greater presence of women and LGBTI+ in the hierarchical positions of the National Public Administration. We continue to advance in equality and expand rights”, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, head of the portfolio, told Télam of Women, Genders and Diversities.
Meanwhile, in the Legislative Branch there has been Law 27,412 on Gender Parity in Areas of Political Representation since 2017, which has led to parity in that area.
On the other hand, the Judiciary remains reluctant to many initiatives in this field, from a first rejection and then a “self-training” of the Micaela Law to a Supreme Court that today is made up of four male jurists.
