07 March 2017
Información para la Prensa N°: 058/17
“The tendency to favour men over women based on the belief that they have different capabilities still exists. Despite efforts, conventions and progress made, there is still great inequality today,” Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra stated at the inauguration of a Workshop on Gender Perspective in which Directors and Deputy Directors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship participated.
The training was provided by the Women’s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice, as a joint endeavor between the different branches of government with a view to promoting gender equity. The workshop offered an opportunity for reflection and raising awareness about the importance of introducing the gender perspective into the daily actions of Foreign Service members.
“Beginning Women’s Day celebrations with a workshop for reflection is the best way to work jointly to further the gender issue,” Malcorra stated, anticipating that the Gender Action Plan will be launched at the Foreign Ministry tomorrow.
The Plan will serve as a roadmap and a working tool for the important task of effectively ensuring equality of opportunity at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship. Its strategic aims include real equality of opportunity for men and women, the reconciliation between work and family life, joint responsibility, and the follow-up and implementation of the Plan.
“Thinking of what can be done to eliminate these determining factors and putting oneself into somebody else’s shoes at work and when considering work interactions I think is very important. As the Foreign Ministry, it is our responsibility to represent our country in all gender issues, and we take pride in this. In fact, Argentina is one of the countries at the vanguard of this issue,” the head of Argentine diplomacy assured.
“It is not a question of feminist revanchist struggle, it is a question of basic rights. It is also about sustainable development: it is unthinkable for societies to reach the development level they must attain without ensuring the equal participation of 100 percent of society in growth and in political, social and economic development,” Malcorra added. “The gender issue is not just an addition to what we do. It is what we do,” she concluded.