In Chile, women politicians rise, but women's rights lag
鈥淚n Chile, the skirt鈥檚 in charge,鈥� blared the聽headline of Santiago聽tabloid La Cuarta the day after Michelle聽Bachelet and Evelyn Matthei聽advanced to a second round in聽the country鈥檚 presidential race. Voters聽today will pick between聽the two life-long politicians in the first聽presidential election in Latin America where all the candidates are聽female.
But having such high-profile women in Chilean聽politics masks a聽country that is falling behind its peers on women鈥檚聽issues. Women鈥檚聽groups hope that whoever wins, four years with a female in charge聽can change that, even though former President Bachelet鈥檚 prior term聽frustrated her more ambitious supporters.
鈥淐hile remains one of the Latin American聽countries with the fewest聽women in Congress,鈥� says Alejandra Sep煤lveda,聽executive director of聽ComunidadMujer, a Santiago-based group promoting female聽participation in politics and business. She says women earn 30聽percent less聽than men, a difference driven by women being聽responsible for the聽great bulk of caretaking for children and the聽elderly here.聽
Both candidates are pushing for greater聽attention to domestic聽violence and wider public child care, and have reason to hype their support for women in this campaign. Females make up a slight majority of registered voters聽and have聽routinely higher voter turnout than men, according to the聽country鈥檚聽elections authority.
Bachelet, who served as president from聽2006 to 2010, was her聽country鈥檚 first female president,聽leading a wave that spread to Argentina, Costa Rica,聽and Brazil.聽Barred from immediate reelection, she then went to聽New York聽as the first leader of the United Nations Entity for Gender聽Equality聽and the Empowerment of Women, or UN Women. She is now favored to win the聽presidency, having won 47 percent of the first-round vote, to Ms. Matthei鈥檚 25聽percent.鈥� But hopes for women鈥檚 advancement under聽the next president are聽tempered by the knowledge that Bachelet had limited聽success in her聽first term.
鈥淗aving two women candidates fighting for聽the presidency of聽Chile is a major achievement, but it doesn鈥檛聽guarantee equal rights,鈥澛燤s. Sep煤lveda says.
Bachelet provided housing聽benefits to single聽mothers and ensured that half her cabinet was聽made up of women.聽But she tried and failed to pass a law to boost the聽number of women聽in the legislature. And though Bachelet won a聽law guaranteeing equal聽pay for equal work, it turned out to be聽toothless, says Sep煤lveda.
Matthei, who served as labor minister in聽the current聽administration of President Sebastian Pi帽era, boasts of having聽expanded the country鈥檚 paid leave for new parents to six months from聽three and having funded free preschool for poor children.
People in the US might look longingly at a country聽with six聽months of paid post-natal leave and state funding for preschools, but聽compared with the rest of Latin America, Chile has started to lag.
More than a dozen countries in the region have a聽quota limiting the聽dominance of either sex in national legislatures or聽administrations.聽Colombia, for example, requires that at least 30 percent of聽its top聽government positions be held by women.
And the World Economic Forum says Chile鈥檚 ranking聽on women鈥檚聽equality tumbled to 91st place this year, from 46th in聽2011, thanks in聽large part to one of the world鈥檚 worst wage gaps.
Sep煤lveda says women hold just 1 percent of聽board of director聽seats in companies in Chile鈥檚 benchmark IPSA stock聽index, compared聽to about 12 percent across industrialized markets and 36聽percent in聽Norway, according to GMI Ratings鈥� annual global survey of women聽on聽boards.
鈥淯ntil it鈥檚 recognized that real equal聽opportunity comes from men聽and women sharing responsibility for both聽work and family, it鈥檚 likely聽that this gap will remain,鈥澛燬upulveda says.
Having a female president can affect decision-making on issues such聽as pensions, where a purely free-market solution punishes women聽who spend less time in the workforce, says Marcela Rios, a political聽scientist in charge of the governance program at the United Nations聽Development Program in Santiago. And a UN study found that 鈥渉aving women as聽president did make a聽difference in terms of policy issues,鈥� Ms. Rios says.聽鈥淲omen did聽bring issues to table, especially issues聽traditionally seen as female.鈥�
But no women鈥檚聽issue is trickier for these candidates聽than abortion.鈥� Chile is one of just five countries in the聽world where abortion is a聽crime in all circumstances, even when聽the life of聽the mother is at risk.
Chile鈥檚 law was imposed by military dictator聽Augusto Pinochet in 1989, just months聽before he handed聽over power to a democratic government.
Bachelet鈥檚 campaign has called for聽decriminalization of abortion聽in cases of rape and when the life of聽the mother is at risk.
Matthei once co-sponsored a bill to allow some聽abortions, but now聽says that if elected, she will follow Biblical聽dictates on the procedure.
Rios says beyond specific policies, people want to聽feel included in聽decision-making. 鈥淥f all its Millennium Development Goals, Chile has聽met most,鈥澛燫ios says.
鈥淭he only ones that won鈥檛 be met by 2015 are those聽related聽to聽gender equality: access to power, the pregnancy聽rate of teens. Now聽people don鈥檛 just want services, they want quality services.聽They want聽to participate in the solution.鈥�
Voters today can participate in one decision,聽until polls close at 6聽p.m.
