Women in Argentina

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Women in Argentina
Mensaje de fin de año de la Presidenta.jpg
The former President of Argentina is a woman
Gender Inequality Index
Value 0.380 (2012)
Rank 71st
Maternal mortality (per 100,000) 77
Women in parliament 37.7% (2012)
Females over 25 with secondary education 57.0% (2010)
Women in labour force 55% (2014)[1]
Global Gender Gap Index[2]
Value 0.7195 (2013)
Rank 34th out of 144

The status of women in Argentina has changed significantly following the return of democracy in 1983; and they have attained a relatively high level of equality. In the Global Gender Gap Report prepared by the World Economic Forum in 2009, Argentine women ranked 24th among 134 countries studied in terms of their access to resources and opportunities relative to men.[3] They enjoy comparable levels of education, and somewhat higher school enrollment ratios than their male counterparts. They are well integrated in the nation's cultural and intellectual life,[4] though less so in the nation's economy. Their economic clout in relation to men is higher than in most Latin American countries, however,[5] and numerous Argentine women hold top posts in the Argentine corporate world;[6] among the best known are Cris Morena, owner of the television production company by the same name, María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, former CEO and majority stakeholder of Loma Negra, the nation's largest cement manufacturer, and Ernestina Herrera de Noble, director of Grupo Clarín, the premier media group in Argentina.


Historical context[edit]

Nineteenth Century[edit]






Twentieth Century[edit]

Eva Perón, 1947
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo with President Néstor Kirchner

Following President Juan Perón's enactment of women's suffrage in 1949, First Lady Evita Perón led the Peronist Women's Party until her death in 1952, and helped enhance the role of women in Argentine society. Women played a significant role as both supporters and opponents of the National Reorganization Process, Argentina's last dictatorship, in the late 1970s, and the establishment of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an advocacy group led by mothers of the disappeared, was done by Azucena Villaflor de Vicenti and, mostly, other women, on the rationale that they would be less likely to be the targets of repression (Villaflor de Vicenti and her fellow founders were murdered by the regime in 1977).[10] Women's rights in Argentina progressed in significant ways following the return of democracy in 1983. President Raúl Alfonsín signed laws in 1987 both limiting Patria potestas (the latitude given to a father regarding his treatment of fellow household members, particularly children) and legalizing divorce, helping resolve the legal status of 3 million adults living in legal separation.[11] The Argentine quota law signed by President Carlos Menem in 1991 provides that one-third of the members of both houses of congress must be women, a goal achieved through balanced election slates.[12] As of 2006, there were 29 women in the 72-seat Senate, 86 women in the 257-seat Argentine Chamber of Deputies, two female Supreme Court justices, and three women in the presidential cabinet.[12] The President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was elected in 2007; the runner-up in the crowded field was also a woman, Elisa Carrió.

Family life[edit]

With regard to the organization of family life, Argentina has a history of social conservatism, and the influence of Catholicism in Argentina has been very strong throughout the 20th century. In Argentina, divorce was legalized only in 1987, and the legalization was the result of a struggle between different governments and conservative groups, mostly connected to the Catholic Church, that lasted a whole century. In 1987, President Raúl Alfonsín was successful in passing the divorce law, following a ruling of the Supreme Court. The new law also provided for gender equality between the wife and husband.[13] By 1987, when divorce was legalized, only three other Latin American countries prohibited divorce (Paraguay and Colombia, which legalized it 1991,[13] and Chile which legalized it in 2004[14]). Adultery was decriminalized in 1995.[15] Also, a new Civil and Commercial Code,[16] modernizing family law, came into force in August 2015.[17][18]

Domestic violence[edit]

Mass protest against violence against women in Buenos Aires in 2015

Violence against women is a serious problem in Argentina. Amnesty International reported in February 2012 that a woman died every two days as a result of domestic violence in Argentina.[19] The civil society organization La Casa del Encuentro reported that between January and September 2013, 209 women died as a result of domestic or gender-based violence.[7]

In 2009, Argentina enacted Ley de protección integral para prevenir, sancionar y erradicar la violencia contra las mujeres en los ámbitos en que desarrollen sus relacion es interpersonales [Ley 26.485][20] (The Comprehensive Law on the Prevention, Punishment and Elimination of Violence against Women in their Interpersonal Relations [Law 26.485]).


Human trafficking[edit]


Rape and sexual harassment[edit]





Economic gender gap[edit]



Restrictions on abortion[edit]

Clara Oyuela, (1907-2001) Argentine opera singer
Gabriela Sabatini, Argentine former professional tennis player

Abortion in Argentina remains prohibited, and is legal only in cases of rape, or where the life of the mother is in danger.[26] The Argentine Penal Code 846, moreover, was amended in 2008 to place stricter sanctions against women who seek an abortion, as well as any medical staff involved in the act.[27] These limitations notwithstanding, an estimated 500,000 abortions are performed annually in Argentina (compared to around 700,000 live births), resulting in at least 10,000 hospitalizations due to complications[28] (estimates vary widely)[29] and around 100 deaths (a third of all maternal mortality).[30][31]

Contraception and reproductive rights[edit]

Traditionally, access to contraceptives has long been discouraged by a succession of Argentine governments,[32] which instead rewarded large families with subsidies rising disproportionately with the seventh child.[33] Although Argentine women have long had among Latin America's lowest birth rates (averaging 2.3 births per woman in recent years), the policy has tended to encourage higher birth rates in the lowest strata of society (including women least able to afford large families).[33] Contraceptives are widely used by sexually active Argentine women, as condoms are by Argentine men, and a variety of birth control products can be obtained freely in pharmacies;[34] the Argentine government began their free distribution in 2003.[32] In general, couples and individuals have the right to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of children, and have access to information and reproductive health services. The law requires the government to provide free contraceptives.[7]

Women in politics[edit]

Traditionally, politics was seen a male domain. The legal and social roles of women in Argentina were mostly dictated by the Spanish Law (which itself was based on Roman law) and by the Catholic Church. As such, women were subordinated first to their fathers and then to their husbands.[35] Today, however, women have a notable presence in Argentinian politics, and they make up more than a third of the parliament.[36] Argentina had two female presidents: Isabel Martínez de Perón and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Advocacy and international law[edit]



See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]



  1. ^ http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.ACTI.FE.ZS/countries
  3. ^ La Nación: Mujeres siguen siendo discriminadas (Spanish)
  4. ^ Educ.ar: La mujer y sus derechos (Spanish)
  5. ^ iEco: Brecha salarial (Spanish)
  6. ^ iEco: Las mujeres que manejan los millones (Spanish)
  7. ^ a b c d e f http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper
  8. ^ es:Juana Azurduy
  9. ^ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1703106-cristina-presento-el-nuevo-billete-de-10-pesos-con-manuel-belgrano-y-juana-azurduy
  11. ^ Every Culture: Argentina
  15. ^ http://www.impowr.org/content/current-legal-framework-adultery-argentina
  16. ^ http://www.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/235000-239999/235975/norma.htm
  17. ^ http://www.nuevodiarioweb.com.ar/nota/elpais/621051/cristina-destaco-importancia-nuevo-codigo-civil-comercial.html
  18. ^ http://jornadaonline.com/Pol%C3%ADtica/139234-Comienza-a-regir-el-nuevo-C%C3%B3digo-Civil-y-Comercial
  19. ^ http://www.gaje.org/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/12/2011/07/Presentac.ppt
  20. ^ http://www.oas.org/dil/esp/Ley_de_Proteccion_Integral_de_Mujeres_Argentina.pdf
  21. ^ http://photos.state.gov/libraries/argentina/8513/reports/TraffickingPersonsReport2013.pdf
  23. ^ http://www.infoleg.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/15000-19999/16546/texact.htm#17
  24. ^ http://www.qub.ac.uk/slavery/?page=countries&category=2&country=7#Act%20No.%2025,087%20on%20%C3%A2%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BDOffences%20against%20sexual%20integrity%C3%A2%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%207%20May%201999
  25. ^ http://www.senado.gov.ar/deInteresEnglish
  26. ^ Despenalización (Spanish)
  27. ^ Harvard Law Review: Abortion rights in Argentina
  28. ^ Página/12: Las cifras para abrir el debate (Spanish)
  29. ^ Los Angeles Times: How Many Abortions in Mexico
  30. ^ Human Rights Watch: Women's Access to Contraceptives and Abortion in Argentina
  31. ^ Planned Parenthood: Abortion in Argentina
  32. ^ a b Argentina: Limits on Birth Control Threaten Human Rights
  33. ^ a b Clarín: La fábrica de hijos (Spanish)
  34. ^ The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Argentina. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 1997.
  35. ^ http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/arg.html
  36. ^ http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm

External links[edit]