Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Argentina
Delegate Name: Evan Calderon
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Argentina position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
The issue of women in government has been a prominent issue since the many suffragist movements in the 20th century and since then, many countries have granted women voting rights and some are still being granted today. Today,women account for only 21.5% of all national assembly positions worldwide. Part of the issue of female participation in government is encouraging participation through education and laws. The Argentine Republic (thereafter Argentina) has a history with the topic of encouraging women participation in government. Argentina has come a long way for women in government . Argentina was the first country to adopt a gender quota law in 1991 that required all political parties to nominate women for at least 30% of all electable positions in government. in 2016, the Argentine National Congress passed a gender parity law that requires half of all candidates on a ballot to be women, and if the number of candidates is odd, have the difference between the men and women to differ by no more than one. Argentina firmly believes in the participation of women in government, as they make up 50% of the population and 50% of the argentine workforce. They have made great improvement to increase the equality of the gender ratio in the government by passing laws such as the gender quota law in 1991 or the gender parity law in 2016, which now requires 50% of all candidates on a ballot to be women. Argentina believes in encouraging women to participate in the government in ways such as passing laws that require women nominations and/or candidates. Another solution that can help is education. Educating women can help women pursue careers in government which will help in participation by women. It is imperative that women have a role in government, as they account for 50% of the population. Encouraging women is an important factor in helping women participate in government and it should be taken upon every national government to provide resources necessary to help encourage and improve women participation in the government.
