‘Women’s autonomy in changing economic scenarios’ was the central theme of the 14th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s most important inter-governmental forum on gender equality, where BBVA Microfinance Foundation has taken part for the first time.
Every three years, the Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean (ECLAC) organizes this meeting with the support of UN Women and a host country. This year, Chile hosted the event. At each meeting, as well as looking at the situation of Latin American women in terms of their personal independence and rights, the activities are analyzed in compliance with regional and international agreements, and public policy recommendations for gender equality are made.
Supporting them has a positive impact on sustainable development and on reducing poverty”
Equality was also discussed during the panel whereLaura Fernández, head of Women’s Empowerment in BBVAMF, spoke during a launching event organized by UN Women, the European Union and the International Labor Organization (ILO) at the ECLAC headquarters, attended by a delegation from the Foundation’s Chilean institution, Fondo Esperanza.
Laura Fernández, head of Women’s Empowerment in BBVAMF, 14th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
“Our productive finance model shows that investing in the activities of the over 1.2 million women entrepreneurs we serve, improves their business performance and helps them escape poverty”, she noted during her speech, adding that “supporting them has a positive impact on sustainable development and on reducing poverty”.
Held from January 27th through 31st, the conference also provided an opportunity to discuss other issues, such as progress and challenges for implementing Beijing+25 in Latin American countries. An analysis which will provide findings for CSW64 and the Generation Equality Forum, both of which were set up by UN Women to review commitments made by all parties.