Globalisation, Women, and Development in Latin American and the Caribbean

"We aspire to be a developed country that fosters the knowledge of its inhabitants," José Desanti, Ex-Minister of Economy, Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology for Costa Rica.

At the beginning of this new millennium, trying to determine the contribution of women to the economy, society and politics is like trying to count all the grains of sand on the beaches of Latin America and the Caribbean.

More important than such a numeric tally is the fact that despite considerable growth in the participation of women, such participation continues to be limited, marginalized and repressed. The leadership of women in fragile times becomes even more fragile.The issue of gender is much discussed in all forums. It was present at the World Social Forum (Faro Social Sundial) held in Porto Alegre. It was also discussed at the World Economic Forum (Foro Economico Mundial or FEM) in New York, where very few of the participants were women. Among the attendees were Her Excellency Queen Rania of Jordan, Hilary Clinton, Laura Tyson (Dean of the Business School of the University of London), and Irene Khan of Amnesty International. Of course, there were no women from Latin America.

The FEM initiatives addressing leadership by women attempt to:

• strengthen efforts to identify, invite and encourage women leaders to participate in the annual meeting and other activities of the Forum
• increase the number of women on panels and in seminars
• create a seminar entitled "Initiatives by Women Leaders: The Next Generation" which will focus on matters which predominantly affect women.

Similarly, many worldwide initiatives have been undertaken to increase our opportunities as women. One of these, on the part of the United Nations and its agencies, calls for a 30% participation rate for women in positions of power.

But the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is so fragile that only five countries in the region increased the participation of women in their Parliaments (UNIFEM, 2001). Indisputably, Gender Equity has not yet been treated as an important problem.

Anne Mulch, the fifth woman listed in the Fortune 500, President and CEO of XEROX, asserts that the most important lesson of business is that while strategies may be correct, what matters most is that the implementation be perfect. She points to the immense effort (in time and money) that is frequently spent achieving the perfect strategy, only to go to waste due to an ineffective implementation. How often do we fall into this error in our countries?Precision, continuity and follow-through on critical issues of implementation are the driving force behind any strategy for change.

Gender Equity is a national and regional problem that requires a quick solution. When we accomplish this, we will be solving an individual problem which will have beneficial reverberations for all our counties.

Rethinking learning in the Digital Era

Globalisation, liberalization of markets and competition require governments and the private sector to have a new business focus. We can see by the dizzying speed of technological change that time is not on the side of developing countries. One study by the International Development Center at Harvard indicates the need to rethink learning in order to guarantee our participation in the Digital Era.

During their term of government, José María Figueres, Executive Director of FEM, Ex-President of Costa Rica, and José Desanti, ex-Minister of Economy, Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology for Costa Rica, convinced the multinational INTEL to install operations in their country. Establishing a long-term strategy, they offered foreign investors what their advisors indicated was indispensable: Education.

A recent statement by Forrester Research clearly demonstrates how the fundamentals of business practice and the resources of competitive advantages are changing. While it is very important that businesses adapt to the new technological realities, it is even more important that the region adapts.

Are women growing and learning to think globally or are we stuck in the same old discourses?

In order for Latin American women to impact our own national economies we need two things: a determination, both individual and collective, to demand our social rights, and a growing and active participation in government and business positions that effect decisions. Businesspeople and economists have both shown that our own development and that of the region depends upon assuming a different posture, one that is disciplined, affirmative, and proactive, and which develops a concrete plan for the improvement of current conditions. Participation by civil society, political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGO's), intergovernmental organisations (IGO's) and governments will all be needed. All will need to work together in order to raise the country to a new standard of living.

Contrary to the opinion of some governments, financing and administrative training are not the answer. Marginalized women (35%) will not change their own future, nor will they influence significant changes in their countries. These micro-enterprise businesswomen need to understand the world in which we live.

The most important thing is not what one government achieves, but what the whole country or the whole region achieves - short-term, medium-term, long-term, and into the future. Everything has a price . . . Are you ready to pay? And are you ready to lead along with me in order to achieve the necessary changes?

The contributions of women are intangible. Our results, laudable. And our mission, immeasurable.