The People’s Power Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Carolys Pérez, ratified this Tuesday the commitment of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to achieve equality for women and girls as a fundamental human right, implementing public policies to eradicate the different forms of discrimination against women and guaranteeing their freedom and human rights.
During her participation in the 60th Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean of ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), the Venezuelan minister pointed out that “the appearance of the pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequality of women and girls throughout the world, from health and economy to security and social protection”, and in the case of Venezuela there is added “a set of external and internal aggressions that have tried to erode the constitutional and democratic order” of the country in recent years.
Regarding to the labor field and access to employment, Vice-minister Pérez explained that “during 2020 within the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, work stability procedures were promoted for a total of 258,187 workers, of which 40% of the procedures initiated were for women”, and in terms of reducing unemployment, women represent 57% of the beneficiaries in the Chamba Juvenil Mission, a program dedicated to guaranteeing Venezuelan youth the right to work.
The Minister for Women and Gender Equality indicated that Venezuela has institutions and mechanisms for the protection and justice of women, created in 22 years of the Revolution, time in which the participation of gender in political and social life of the country has incresed.
She referred to the installation of the Higher People’s Organ of Gender Justice, made up of national, state, municipal and local institutions with competence in matters of gender justice along with social organizations, civil society and especially the community defenders, to guarantee access to justice and women’s rights to a life free of violence.
The Minister called on the countries of the region to incorporate the gender perspective in all plans, programs and policies as a requirement for achieving sustainable development. “These spaces must be a call to conscience and political will to make the decisions that correspond to us”, she emphasized.