The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas (WLCA)—a joint initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)—are pleased to present this report on the discussions regarding women’s leadership that occurred at the meeting, “Politics Matter: A Dialogue of Women Political Leaders,” held on November 13, 2000 at IDB headquarters in Washington, DC. We are particularly grateful to the fifty top women politicians from throughout the hemisphere whose thoughtful participation made this forum a success.
This paper highlights the achievements and the failures of American governments in implementing Summit provisions related to women’s rights in the areas of violence, health, political participation, legal rights, and the maintenance of women’s agencies in the state.
The Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas (WLCA)—a joint initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)—is pleased to present this report on women in political power in the hemisphere. The WLCA believes that the number of women in political leadership is a concrete indicator of a country’s progress (or lack thereof) toward fulfilling its commitment to women’s equity. The WLCA is releasing this report prior to the third Summit of the Americas––taking place in Quebec City, Canada, on April 20 to 22, 2001––as part of its continuing efforts to monitor progress on promises made to women.
The Women’s Leadership Conference of the Americas (WLCA) is a hemispheric network of 100 outstanding women leaders who have decided to work together to: (1) expand the number and enhance the contribution of women in top leadership positions across Latin America and the Caribbean; (2) promote policy and institutional changes that will improve opportunities for all women in the region; and (3) strengthen other nongovernmental initiatives that advance women’s equality, and facilitate their access to policy officials.
On October 7, 1994 in Washington, D.C., the Roundtable of Western Hemisphere Women Leaders brought together a politically and professionally diverse group of over thirty prominent women—none of whom occupy a national government position—from the United States, Canada and eleven countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
