Keynote conference offered by MSc. Isabel Jover Jiménez, International Management Consultant, within the framework of the March 8 event: "International Women's Day", organized by the Labor Party in Colima, Mexico, at the Casa de la Cultura.
Commemorating such an extraordinary date today in this Colima setting means a momentous historical, social, cultural and political milestone in Mexico. So I appreciate the honor of this invitation to share with such a respectable public on this day.
Worldwide, a courageous German woman: Clara Zetkin, defender of feminism in early 1910, founder of the International Socialist Women's Congress, proposed at a Conference in Copenhagen that March 8 be instituted as International Women's Day.
And as of today, the most advanced countries in this field have celebrated it annually.
Woman, which comes from the Latin root mulier, is a sacred concept, which we associate with the generation of the most relevant values.
We owe human conception and life to the fact that we are born of a woman and the influence, respect and tenderness that inspires such a unique event, distinguishes us and accompanies us throughout our lives.
Reflecting on the scope of this word woman and relating it to some important concepts, it occurred to me to construct an acrostic in which we can associate: Woman, to M: from Maternal, U: from Urgency; J: of Hierarchy; E: of Expressing and R: of Reason and I added, to Give love.
Together the initials express the phrase:
Woman: Maternal hierarchical urge to express reason, to give love.
From the beginning of humanity, there were tendencies towards matriarchy or the predominance of female power in society.
According to the story, at first the Goddess Aphrodite ruled, and life was in full symbiosis with the feminine in nature. The natural right to the fertility of the earth and the creative capacity of its fruits prevailed.
In a second period Demeter dominated, and the feminine accepts the mediation of marriage on the social plane. Agriculture is at that time the essential form in unity with nature.
In a third moment Apollo, the solar God, shines. And the masculine begins its displacement to the feminine. Occurring the transformation of the matriarchal towards the new patriarchal cultural form.
For different historical, cultural, social and economic reasons, the natural events that initially gave women a relevant role, were transformed causing a regression towards social discrimination against women.
However, women have been strong, constant and tenacious in all eras, rising above these traumas, fighting and reaching relevant places in all areas.
At the global level and in short synthesis, we can mention important women who have stood out in the struggle for freedom and emancipation in past centuries, such as: Madame Curie: scientist, Doctor of Science from the Sorbonne University and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1934 for his contribution to the studies of radioactivity. Manuelita Sáenz, precursor of feminism in Latin America, and sentimental companion of the Liberator of the independence of America: Simón Bolívar; Heroines and revolutionary fighters for Cuban freedom such as Mariana Grajales, Celia Sánchez and Vilma Espín. Guatemalans such as Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize winner for the defense of indigenous rights; and current national presidents of countries such as Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from Argentina: and Dilma Roussef from Brazil
But our historical journey would not be congruent without recognizing important women who stood out in the history of Mexico in the last two centuries, such as: the Nahuatl princess MACUILXÓCHITZIN, a Tenochtitlan poet who transmits in her work the period of maximum Aztec splendor; Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, famous for the most famous defense of women written in her time; María Gertrudis Bocanegra, tireless social fighter for Mexican libertarian independence; Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, insurgent fighter against the Spanish government; Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza; writer, poet and fighter of the Mexican Revolution; Griselda Álvarez, the first Mexican and Colima woman to become Governor; and already in the last century: Matilde de Zúñiga, the first woman lawyer in Mexico and promoter of the right to vote for women;Benita Galeana Lacunza, political activist and social activist; Frida Kahlo, renowned and famous painter; and Rosario Castellanos writer, diplomat and cultural promoter.
Of course, the current moment is also enriched with the prominent role of Mexican and Colima women, who contribute their remarkable effort to the continuous development of society, in accordance with the dissimilar challenges that contemporaneity imposes on them in all human settings. And due to their diverse representation and extensive number, it is impossible for us to mention in the short time of this intervention.
Many of them today present in this auditorium, give prestige to Mexico, with their relevant work and sacrifice, as well as with their struggle to continue achieving the authentic recognition and participation of women in society.
We take this opportunity to highlight and thank the timely and competent leadership of the women organizing this event, such as Mrs. Evangelina Bustamante: General Director of the Institute of Initial Education of the State of Colima and other invited personalities, educational leaders and collaborators of the social projects present, for whom we ask for a loud applause.
It is necessary to carry out in this context, an evolutionary characterization of the role and challenges that have occurred for women in the world in recent centuries, which have generated with great effort the results achieved to date.
For this we can point out that:
The 1940s to the 50s of the last century were characterized by female Invisibility:
Furtive phrases, uses and social customs, coined the content of: "Women do not exist, they are not subject to development"; Therefore, men became representatives of the interests and needs of the whole society, and providers of resources for family well-being.
This led to the establishment of a mandatory difference between roles, assigning women the biological role of reproduction, upbringing and nutrition of sons and daughters, and only men the productive role.
As there was still no public and widespread awareness of marginalization at that time, there was still no explicit reference to the inequality of women's rights and opportunities.
In the 60s, an apparent wellness approach is given:
It is promoted that "Women are only mothers"; and public policies focus on their reproductive role, highlighting that: Maternity and family care are their central role in society.
A welfare nature was evidenced in the approach to women; and the social solution was to train them to improve their "domestic skills."
Historically we were at that time, passive protagonists of the drama and victims of our ignorance. There was still insufficient mention of the inequality of rights and opportunities with men, explaining that the oppression of women was only a consequence of the economic and political system.
The 1970s were called the Decade of Women's Development.
The importance of the integration of women in Development and the Economy is beginning to be recognized. And they begin to participate through their productive and reproductive roles. Interpretive advances are produced promoting the inclusion of women as productive subjects in society, which improves their status.
Not enough mention was made publicly of unequal rights and opportunities with men. But it is recognized that the oppression of women is a consequence of the economic and political system.
Although the traditional role of women and gender subordination were not questioned in a relevant way in public settings.
In the 80s there was a major turnaround and the concept of empowerment appeared
The subordination of women is recognized and criticized, trying to objectively identify its consequences.
Gender is already identified as a social construction. Beginning to question the established belief of the just man as a redistributor of benefits at the intra-family level.
Open practices begin by seeking the "empowerment" of women trying to overcome existing structural inequalities.
It is recognized that women contribute to development and have different basic needs than men.
Therefore, the correlation of social and public forces changes and women are considered as human capital in which it is essential to invest.
Starting in the 90s, there was an important evolution of the development approach: already integrating empowerment and transversality "
It is emphasized that the structure that subordinates women: is multidimensional; and it focuses on unequal power relations between women and men.
This approach sought to achieve a redistribution of power in all areas, in each society and between countries.
In keeping with it, the world situation of women and the differences in the construction of relations between genders are analyzed, trying to formulate an alternative vision of relations between men and women.
The concept of gender mainstreaming appears in decision-making, and the empowerment of the poorest and most excluded female groups is promoted.
In this evolutionary line, we must mention that some and some mistakenly misrepresent very important concepts, confusing gender and sex, for which I consider it convenient to ratify that: Gender, is a term spread from the 80s, which aims to show that male roles and feminine are not determined by sex, that is, by biological characteristics, but rather evolve according to different cultural, social and economic situations.
The United Nations (UN) organization in the preparatory work for the IV Beijing Conference in September 1995, officially adopted the definition of gender as a tool for analyzing the reality of women, defining that:
Gender " is the way in which all societies in the world determine the functions, attitudes and relationships that concern men and women."
While sex refers to the biological differences between men and women, it determines the physical characteristics that are derived from sexual differences;
And it is socialization and not sex, which determines the behaviors, values and different expectations of women and men.
At present it is intended to address a gender approach consisting of transforming the mechanisms that originate unequal power relations between men and women; and thus overcome the subordination and discrimination based on gender, built on the female or male sex.
This approach emphasizes the relational content between the two, questioning power relations, based on a more just and equitable transformative proposal.
But with an inclusive perspective, which implies a social change in the unequal power relations established.
As part of the situations that have occurred over the centuries, social stereotypes have been created, the expression of mental prejudices that, with discriminatory language, have contributed to the marginalization and discrimination of women; influencing in a decisive way on the negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of the society, such as the invisibility already mentioned, the ridicule and the blaming of women.
Likewise, if we take into account the real differences in the brains of men and women, whose scientific investigations attribute to men a greater development of the right side, which supposedly makes them more suitable for some activities; And the predominance in women on the left side of her brain, that of feelings….
By justifying and qualifying actions only by sex without the corresponding context analysis; ahistorical generalizations and inaccuracies are incurred that can distort the interpretation of said behaviors, legitimizing the discrimination that we are trying to abolish.
With the intention of energizing my intervention and legitimizing on a more personal level some of the disquisitions made; I would like to share with you a poem by an anonymous author, which seems to me to be closely related to the subject:
Poem: Masculinity and Femininity
(Taken from the book "Poverty and Masculinity", by the author Gabriela Rotondi, from Buenos Aires, August 2000)
For every strong woman tired of appearing weak, there is a weak man tired of looking strong.
For every woman tired of having to act silly, there is a man burdened with pretending to know everything.
For every woman tired of being labeled an "emotional female," there is a man who has been denied the right to cry and be sensitive.
For every tomboy when competing, there is a man forced to compete so that his masculinity is not doubted.
For every woman tired of being a sexual object, there is a man concerned about his sexual potency.
For every woman who feels tied to motherhood, there is a man who has been denied the right to the pleasure of fatherhood.
For every woman who has not had access to a satisfactory salary, there is a man who must take responsibility for another human being and for a family.
For every woman who takes a step towards her own liberation, there is a man who rediscovers the path to her own freedom.
Thanks for your applause….
Delving into the issue of discrimination against women as a social difficulty to which we have been subjected since time immemorial; the difference that exists between men and women in terms of the distribution of goods, services, prestige and power; it has generated the devaluation of their identity and presence in the public world.
One of the most widespread forms of discrimination against women has been the intentional invisibility of their experiences, their needs, their expectations and requirements in language, in public policies, in the functioning of the labor market, in history, in the research, science, and the use of new technologies.
Existing discrimination is ratified when the results show that women have not sufficiently accessed all spaces and cannot enjoy the same resources and assets, even though there are apparently no legal impediments or objective barriers that prevent their participation.
Even in the current situation, although the same opportunities in access to resources, power and participation are guaranteed, due to the entrenched discriminatory tradition, it is not always guaranteed that the results achieved by men and women will be valued equally and objectively. professional and social spaces.
So an immediate change of attitudes is needed in society to really achieve equality between women and men.
In current times, despite the laws, positive publicity, despite the fact that both receive the same education, despite the progress made, in order not to continue only talking about discrimination against women, a pact is needed of joint responsibility for equality in countries and institutions.
Reality has shown that the processes of socialization, by which we learn what is expected of behaviors between women and men, in each culture and in each era offer great resistance to variations.
Even when these changes are as desirable, necessary and just as equality. So we must be more consistent in actions.
Numerous studies have shown that despite coeducation, boys and girls receive different messages about the roles they should play according to their sex, which influences, marks and weighs on their later behaviors.
There are other socialization agents such as the family, religion, the media, the environment, new technologies, video games, information pages and spaces for relationships, which define what is expected of girls and boys., unconsciously enhancing discrimination.
The transformation of current sexist attitudes and values into egalitarian ones is still very slow. And on many occasions, the circumstances are more apparent than real.
Under the surface, manipulative situations of discrimination are often hidden that are not always easily observable.
As a result of all the aforementioned imbalances, women in many countries are victims of extreme poverty.
The gender inequality that is reproduced in the family affects the distribution of household resources. The poorest women limit their consumption to favor their partner and their children, and thus suffer poverty more severely.
With a dramatic burden, they perform housework in precarious conditions, having to transport water from remote places, carry firewood for cooking, wash clothes outdoors, lacking basic products that they cannot buy.
They have a high number of sons and daughters and suffer a high risk of maternal mortality
They take care of the health of their sons and daughters, who more frequently get sick and die from insufficient nutrition and poor sanitary conditions.
They postpone their consumption in favor of the other members of the household.
They have few opportunities to work for pay and when they do so in very precarious occupations, they receive lower wages than men in all segments of the labor market
They more frequently suffer violence by the partner.
They have little autonomy to decide on household expenses, work, and use family planning methods
It is for this reason that thanks to the social struggles of women and progressive organizations in the world, and the realization of successive international events promoted by the UN, and other progressive organizations, the Millennium Goals have been established until 2015, which of According to the level of sensitivity expressed by the different countries, they have launched various initiatives, among which we can mention:
• Promote equality between the sexes and the autonomy of women through the full exercise of sexual and reproductive rights.
• Achieve the eradication of partner violence in its various forms.
• Manage economic autonomy through the development of the ability to generate own income.
• Reduce or eliminate gender gaps that are manifested as distances of opportunities in the exercise of rights between women and men. And that are the cause of barriers, difficulties, unequal material and cultural conditions that disadvantage women and do not allow them to contribute to the family and community economy and local development in general.
• Develop adequate conditions to improve the level of productive competencies and personal skills of women with limited resources and entrepreneurs.
• Improve the labor insertion of women conductors of productive units and services as a strategy to overcome poverty.
• Promote the commercial articulation of low-income women with productive activities in local, regional and export markets.
• Strengthen the human capital of communities with women entrepreneurs, conductors of productive units at the self-employment or micro-enterprise level.
• Incorporate them into political advocacy actions so that Regional and Local Governments promote the best conditions for investment and economic development.
• Identify and consolidate their potential to advance in business development, as a mechanism for access to decent work and / or sustained income.
• Integrate them with equal rights and responsibilities to business associations, unions, recognizing their right to representation, decision-making and the exercise of negotiation and economic agreement.
As we have shown, the challenges that women have had to overcome in society through the centuries in all countries of the world have been very intense.
And although governments, institutions and men themselves have made progress in recognizing the discriminatory factors that have significantly affected the development of women, the task is arduous and there is still a long way to go.
In the first place we must influence the transformation of the individual and social conscience of women themselves because if we are not aware of marginalization we will not be able to act to change the established order;
And secondly, to contribute to transforming the consciousness of men and of institutions, to continue actively fighting to achieve the necessary change.
Customizing the programs in Action Plans to implement the Millennium Goals, according to the needs of each country and institution is the highest priority for action.
For today's women, it means a paradigm shift that does not imply pretending to be better than men, diminishing or disqualifying them, but rather it is about fighting for the fair recognition of equal opportunities for men and women, even if we are different.
With this we will not renounce our femininity, nor the sensitive tenderness that characterizes us.
Claiming the right to fight shoulder to shoulder as a team with our men, to achieve the imperative of transformation of world society will not make us handicapped, but quite the opposite.
The world of the XXI century demands and demands a competent woman who can and knows how to contribute to its development. Each one of the women present carries within us a female leading pixie, let's wake her up and give way to her creative genius !!!! A wide world space awaits our social contribution.
Improving our participation, strengthening the knowledge, skills, abilities and values of that female leadership that we carry within, through institutional training and self-improvement, will help us to gain the deserved respect and consciously contribute to the solution of numerous problems. social, as a new weapon of female independence.
In my humble experience, I declare, having verified it personally, that the emancipation of women and leadership is really achievable, even if it depends on multifactorial variables of an individual order and the environment.
In my case, I wish to highlight that there were several factors that notably influenced the possibility of taking advantage of the opportunities that life offered me as a woman in the family, economic, social and professional sphere.
And these factors have been: my constant desire to improve and participate, the invaluable support and respect of my husband and family, and the possibility of living in a country with high educational standards and high indicators of equality and female participation.
Exemplary, competent, Colima women with high self-esteem such as those who today honor us with their presence, cannot be ignored in any family, student, work, professional, political and social setting, neither in Mexico nor anywhere else.
Mexican women have earned that right and we must continue to give it prestige!
Let's put "Hands to work" again, without getting tired and our children, spouses, friends and other fellow citizens will thank us !!!!
As our apostle José Martí said:
… “The campaigns of the people are only weak when the heart of the woman is not enlisted in them; but when the woman shudders and helps, when the shy and quiet woman of her nature encourages and applauds, when the cultured and virtuous woman anoints the work with the honey of her affection, the work is invincible. "
Congratulations to all of you on this International Women's Day !!! And I say goodbye sharing with UDS a beautiful visual message.
Thank you very much!!!!!!
