Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Chile
Delegate Name: Model UN women.
School: Vicksburg High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Chile position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Chile supports political participation by women fully. In 2006, we elected our first female president who focused on domestic violence. Back in 2004, we legalized divorce giving females who were in dangerous situations an escape. We recognized that if the marriage is violent, abusive, and manipulative, then the woman should have the right to divorce as well as the man. Chilean women have had the right to vote and participate politically in national elections since January 8, 1949. Women in Chile average around the same literacy rate as men also a reason to push for further equality. Even though women have these political rights, there is still room for improvement. Majority of women in Chile report that gender roles and traditions still prove to be a major issue. Traditional house wife roles are still expectant in women. Since Chilean women are educated as much as men, they should also be able to work outside of the home and not be shamed for it. In the work industry, there is an income gap between women and men. For simple jobs that do not require a degree, women get paid averaging around twenty percent less than men. In jobs that require a degree that gap grows to an overwhelming forty percent. Overall, Chile believes that women’s’ roles’ in politics have grown from where they started. Chile acknowledges and hopes to work with any other countries willing to support politics for women. Hopefully we can work together to further women’s equality, such as filling the income gap, dissolving gender roles, and promoting and supporting female politicians.
