By IPS Correspondents
ORANJESTAD, Aruba, May 15 1998 (IPS)

Latin American and Caribbean governments are being urged to resist the temptation to engage in tokenism when tackling women’s issues and to carry out comprehensive programmes of reform.

Chile’s Women’s Affairs Minister, Josefina Bilboa made the point when she addressed the 27th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Aruba earlier this week.

“Although greater sensitivity exists regarding the gender perspective and how poverty limits the achievement of sustainable development, it is still a priority to deepen awareness of the issues,” Bilboa said.

The Minister’s remarks endorse an observation made at the 7th Session of the Regional Conference on the Integration of Women into the Economic and Social Development of Latin America and the Caribbean in Chile last year.

A report from the meeting asserted that there was the need for a “concerted effort” which would have the effect of “fighting the general discrimination generated by poverty.”

Bilboa, who chaired the meeting in Chile, said it was necessary to “underline the political will and commitment shown by governments in this matter” but also to point to the fact that “participation by women in decision-making has not increased.”

The report of the 7th Session released here says greater participation by women “strengthens democracy by allowing the expression of the whole range of interests, voice and needs of the society.”

Some obstacles identified were poverty, which affects a large percentage of women and female-headed households in the region, domestic violence, the various forms of socialisation, the current institutional organisation of political parties and electoral systems, the stereotyping of women in the media and the difficulty in transferring women’s participation and leadership at the local level “to the sphere of politics and social decision-making.”

But Bilboa suggested that women’s organisations and networks must be strengthened and special plans developed for young women, with the purpose of increasing their ability to exercise leadership and their interest in doing so.

The report of the Chile meeting also suggests that in order to overcome the obstacles and expand women’s exercise of citizenship, it was necessary to undertake a series of reforms.

In a statement now widely called the “Santiago Consensus” a range of actions was prescribed. These included strategies such as “affirmative action mechanisms” including quota systems, the promotion of “socialisation and education” that prepare women for the exercise of power, especially young women.

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