Innovation, Knowledge and Gender Equality in Latin America

• Partnership Summary
• Results

The main objective of this partnership was to help position gender equality as a priority issue in national and regional public agendas in the framework of the implementation of the Brasilia Consensus. The project aimed to:

• Strengthen capacities of national and regional actors to institutionalize gender equality in policies and programmes and accelerate the achievement of MDG 3;
• Facilitate dialogue and build alliances for the development of an equality agenda with emphasis on decent work, political participation and violence against women; and,
• Implement a communication strategy to help position the eradication of gender inequalities as an issue central to development and the attainment of the MDGs.

Strengthening capacities of national and regional actors:

• Provided technical assistance to two UNDAF processes (Paraguay and Cuba) and developed a capacity building methodology.
  1. In Cuba, the support provided resulted in six out of nine outcomes incorporating gender equality; all of them included gender indicators.
  2. The Paraguay UNCT was trained and sensitized on gender equality issues in order to better incorporate gender as a cross-cutting issue into the UNDAF focal points.
  3. Support was provided to other UNCTs to incorporate gender equality in the midterm review of their UNDAFs (Peru and Bolivia).
  4. Capacity building methodology was prepared and validated during a workshop that took place in December 2012 organized by the UNDAF Peer Support Group for countries that were in UNDAF roll-out processes in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
• Facilitated training and thematic debate on gender and social protection, with over 60 civil servants trained. This increased the effectiveness of institutions related to Social Protection Systems to integrate a gender perspective and incorporate gender perspectives in the design, implementation and evaluation of related public policies.
• Designed and developed a route for the gender mainstreaming in UNDAF processes that helped to facilitate the implementation of a gender perspective in the different phases of preparation of the UNDAF.
• The Peer Support Group of the UNDAF (UNDGLAC) requested that UNDP and UN Women conduct a regional workshop for members of the PSG and regional offices of the UN agencies. It took place in December 2012 in Panama.

Facilitating dialogue and building alliances for the development of an equality agenda:

Development and dissemination of knowledge products on interagency employment and decent work, and women's political participation:

• Contributed to the development of the regional report on "Decent Work and Gender Equity in Latin America and the Caribbean: proposals to improve access and quality of jobs for women in the region." Through the organization of consultation workshops, with heads of government, business and unions in 6 countries in the region, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
• In collaboration with UN Women, UNFPA and the Latin American Parliament, the Regional Meeting of Parliamentarians was organized in November 2012: "Realizing the rights agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean: the role of parliaments in achieving equality." Click here for the resulting statement.

Technical support in processes of exchange and transfer of knowledge.

This initiative, in collaboration with the coordination of the Secretary General's campaign "UNiTE to End Violence against Women" under the leadership of UN Women, was one of the "highlights" of the annual plan 2012 Campaign:

• Developed regional mapping of plans and policies that address violence against women in 32 countries in the region
• Knowledge-Sharing Workshop, November 2012, in Panama. Government representatives of the 14 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean exchanged experiences and good practices related to the implementation of plans and policies on violence against women. This exchange highlighted the tendency of many countries to pass laws on domestic violence that specifically address violence against women. As a result of the workshop, a video was produced with key messages on the topic at the regional level.
• Promoted discussion on the costs of policies that promote gender equality in Latin America and the Caribbean through:
  1. The development of a publication which identifies approaches, strategies and mechanisms for funding and fulfilling the goals associated with reducing gender inequalities, and for assisting governments in assessing their commitments to promoting social equality through fiscal policy.
  2. A workshop organized June 2013, in collaboration with UN Women, that resulted in a “costing exchange” on policies that contribute to the achievement of gender equality and MDG 3. The workshop was attended by specialists in the field from eight countries in the region, who exchanged experiences and methodologies and identified costing exercises that can be replicated.
  3. Audiovisuals products.

Dialogue within the post-2015 development framework thematic consultations and Rio +20 Summit:

• Web conference on “the proposals from women for Rio+20”. Synthesis report here.
• Post 2015 thematic consultations

Implementing a communication strategy

• The project helped develop the capacities of media professionals in the region to incorporate a gender perspective in the development of journalism and communication issues.
• The platform America Latina Genera was revised to strengthen its link to social networks and a communication strategy was developed.

• Virtual training on gender and communication for communication professionals was developed with UNESCO, Equality http://www.equality-network.net/ and the Colegio de las Américas (COLAM).

• Regional Report on gender and decent work, in collaboration with ILO
• Synthesis of the web conference on women and Rio+20 http://www.americalatinagenera.org/es/boletin/boletin-es-mayo-2012.html
• Communicational material on Post 2015 agenda using social media
  http://www.facebook.com/AmericaLatinaGenera http://www.facebook.com/AmericaLatinaGenera/app_216924904991602

• Synthesis of webinar on KM initiatives for gender equality
• Costs of policies that promote gender equality in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Regional mapping of plans and policies that address violence against women