Feminist Movements and the Gender Economic Agenda in Latin America

Abstract

In Latin America, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing represents a milestone in the history of the feminist and women's movements. Twenty years have passed and despite important achievements in gender equality, for issues of economic equality the results are still meagre and there remains a long road ahead in the fields of employment, access to resources, and social protection for women. Unsurprisingly, it is in economic matters that the feminist and women's movements have renewed their themes and strategies. This article identifies a gender economic agenda that is broad in its transformative scope and in its determination to challenge core aspects of the current economic and social organisation. This broad perspective is a direct legacy of the Beijing Platform for Action but expands a step beyond as it incorporates new challenges for bringing gender justice by questioning the current ways of production and consumption.