{"id":22903,"date":"2025-04-01T17:37:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/revistaprogreso\/fmbbva-aecid-y-segib-rumbo-a-la-igualdad-de-genero\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:52:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T09:52:38","slug":"fmbbva-aecid-y-segib-rumbo-a-la-igualdad-de-genero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/revistaprogreso\/en\/fmbbva-aecid-y-segib-rumbo-a-la-igualdad-de-genero\/","title":{"rendered":"FMBBVA, AECID & SEGIB: Towards gender equality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_pdf\"<\/a>\"image_print\"<\/a><\/div>

The\u00a0Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID),<\/a>\u00a0the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB)<\/a> and the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF)<\/span> have organised the event\u00a0\u201cMujeres al tim\u00f3n: tres d\u00e9cadas de progreso y desaf\u00edos en la igualdad de g\u00e9nero\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>(Women at the helm: three decades of progress and challenges in gender equality) <\/span><\/i>in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30).<\/p>\n

A meeting in which experts from the public and private sectors analysed the progress made in Spain and Latin America, as well as the challenges that remain. Thirty years have passed since the Beijing conference, which achieved world consensus to make equality between men and women a global priority, but despite all this time, as Ant\u00f3n Leis, Director of the AECID acknowledged during the opening of the event: \u2018in no country in the world have we yet achieved full and effective equality between men and women\u2019.<\/p>\n

The experts agreed in recognising the progress made, but without losing sight of the road that remains to be travelled in order to continue advancing, as Miriam Ciscar, Deputy Director of Feminist Cooperation, Economic and Human Development and Governance of the AECID made clear: \u2018Investing in the political and economic empowerment of women is not only \u201cthe right thing to do\u201d, it is also the most intelligent thing we can do for the development of societies\u2019, she pointed out.<\/p>\n

For Laura Fern\u00e1ndez Lord, Head of Sustainability, Equity and Inclusion at BBVAMF, \u2018we have a historic opportunity to achieve equality, but we must address the barriers that still persist, such as low participation in employment, the feminisation of poverty and the digital divide\u2019.<\/p>\n

Technological advancement fosters equality, however at the same time it represents a new challenge. Mar\u00eda Solanas of the Elcano Royal Institute summed it up in this sentence: \u2018Technology can be a powerful tool for the empowerment of women, but it can also perpetuate gender inequality\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is important and very positive that the digital transformation has a gender vision. Its advancement, or that of artificial intelligence, cannot leave women behind. We must take an active view so that the digital transformation favours them,\u2019 said Andr\u00e9s Allamand, Ibero-American Secretary General of SEGIB, who sees technology as a valuable ally in breaking down barriers and opening up new opportunities for women.<\/p>\n

A palpable example of this reflection and of how technology breaks down geographical barriers and brings us closer to a world of possibilities can be seen in one of the protagonists of this event: Dania Riquelme, a Chilean artisanal fisherwoman, who has overcome her initial fear of technology and now combines crab fishing with the sale of household items and party decorations through Facebook Live sessions. She is part of a communal bank of Fondo Esperanza<\/a>, a Chilean BBVAMF entity.<\/p>\n