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About the Observatory

The Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean is a tool created by ECLAC in response to the agreement reached by the countries participating in the X Regional Conference on Women from Latin America and the Caribbean (Quito Consensus, 2007), which requested the United Nations System to create this Observatory. Its purpose is to contribute to strengthening National Machineries for the Advancement of Women, make official information from countries in the region available, and facilitate the monitoring of international agreements on women's rights. Furthermore, it contributes to the implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda adopted at the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Gender Equality Observatory coordinates actions with the National Machineries for the Advancement of Women and the National Statistic Institutes of the countries in the region, as well as United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and cooperation agencies commited to monitoring this Agenda. It shows the progress and shortcomings in gender equality and women and girls' autonomy in the countries of the region.

Objectives and resources

To reverse the structural challenges of gender inequality in the region, breaking the statistical silence is necessary. Within this framework, the main objectives of the Observatory are:

  • To analyze and highlight the achievement of specific goals and objectives related to gender equality in the region.
  • To strengthen capacities and provide technical support to contribute to the strengthening of the National Machineries for the Advancement of Women, strengthen relations with statistical institutes, and make strategic information and analyses available to governments for the formulation and monitoring of public policies in their countries.
  • To facilitate the monitoring of international and regional agreements that promote the rights of women and girls in their diversity, and gender equality by governments, civil society organizations, particularly women's and feminist organizations, the academic sector, and intergovernmental and multilateral organizations.

The resources offered by the Observatory are:

  • Gender statistics and indicators
  • Legislative and public policy repositories
  • Publications
  • Georeferenced care maps
  • Statistical profiles by country and regional averages

Autonomy

The Observatory is built upon the concept of autonomy, defined as “people’s capacity to take free and informed decisions about their lives, enabling them to be and act in accordance with their own aspirations and desires, given a historical context that makes those possible” (ECLAC, 2011). 

Autonomy is a fundamental factor in guaranteeing the exercise of women's human rights in a context of full equality. Thus, it is an essential condition for overcoming the structural challenges of gender inequality. Autonomy becomes a central element in achieving equality, as a fundamental human right, and a precondition for women to fully participate in the economy, politics and all spheres of society.

The Observatory has regional data on the three dimensions of autonomy: economic autonomy, physical autonomy, and autonomy in decision-making.

The three dimensions of women's autonomy are interdependent and need to be interpreted with an intersectional, intercultural, life-cycle approach and within the framework of human rights. Accordingly, public policies to achieve gender equality require coordinated actions on time, resources, benefits and services, both nationally and territorially. These interrrelationships reflect the comprehensive nature of the transformation processes necessary to achieve substantive equality and the full participation of women in sustainable development in order to transition to a care society.