Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Molly Bowling
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Venezuela position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Encouraging women to participate in politics is a pressing issue in today's world. Even though women have been allowed to participate in political activities for more than 120 years, they still face hardships in their ability to engage in political affairs and leadership opportunities, either through discriminatory laws or social barriers placed on women by their culture. Females have been placed under the stereotype where they are expected to remain in the home, because of gender discrimination that has been around for hundreds of years. This is a key factor in preventing them from particiaptating in politics in their country. Women account for approximately half the world’s population, and therefore have the right to be represented accordingly. The United Nations must determine what actions can and cannot be taken to encourage political paticipation by women.
Venezuelan women are slowly becoming more active in politics. Since President Hugo Chávez came to office in 1998, ordinary women from barrios or shantytowns are becoming engaged in grassroot politics. The Venezuelan National Constituent Assembly (ANC) reaffirms the importance of gender rights and equality, Venezuela is feminist because they confront the global revolution of gender equality. Venezuela ranks 101 in the world in gender equality, and 17 percent of the seats in parliament are held by women.
Venezuela encourages other countries to follow in their footsteps. They are headed in the right direction with women holding seats in their government, and more than fifty percent of women have an education in their country. The Venezuelan government is in the process of constructing a new developmental model that recognizes equality between males and females. This is a momentous revolutionary act and is not covered by any other constitution in the world. A state policy in Venezuela is gender equality, the application of the gender perspective as well as the promotion of female empowerment are key components of public policy. If other countries follow Venezuela's policies it will open up more opportunities in their politics. Research shows that female leaders typically have more empathy and compassion, and they have more of an open mind when it comes to negotiation-this is not true for all women, everyone has a different leadership style. Also, in developing nations having women at the table impacts how policy resources are spent.
