UN Women Executive Director visits Chile, calls for investment and commitment to achieve gender equality

Fostering the next generation of women scientist in partnership with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 

Since 2020, ESO and UN Women have collaborated to promote STEM education for women and girls, and opening possibilities for decent employment in astronomical observatories, developing skills and opportunities for women in the field, especially from underprivileged communities in the northern part of Chile.  

"It fills me with joy to hear about the work you are doing in STEM education for women and girls. DNone of the challenges we face globally can be fully and sustainably solved unless women and girls are fully engaged in the solutions aimed at   , tackling them. aI see our collaboration essential in this direction. Together, we are working with women and girls to reach for the stars and pioneer new frontiers in STEM. . ”, said Ms. Bahous.  

Bárbara Nuñez, ESO's regional affairs manager, highlighted the importance of the visit as an opportunity to strengthen this alliance: “Ms. Sima Bahous' visit was an excellent opportunity to take stock of the collaboration between ESO and UN Women. At the meeting, we discussed where should we put our efforts to continue building equitable spaces, free of violence, and how to contribute to local development. We are excited to continue working, as we know that in our society there are many barriers to ensure equity between women and men, and certainly in the area of STEM we can continue to grow in this regard” . 

Advancing commitments with Ministers of the Government of Chile to achieve gender equality  

During the meetings with Government officials, Ms. Bahous highlighted the work of the Ministers of the Government of Chile, from leading actions to advance commitments for women and girls, to ensuring progress on gender equality.  

UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous met with Javiera Toro, Minister of Social Development and Family of the Government of Chile to talk about the future National Care Systems in Chile focused on caregivers and those who require care. 

Ms. Bahous also met with Carolina Tohá, Minister of the Interior and Public Security of Chile to discuss the leadership of women as agents of change and promoters of peace.

Women leaders and civil society organizations are the driving force behind the gender equality movement 

Chilean women activists and their civil society organizations have a long history of advocating for gender equality and human rights in the country. During a meeting with women leaders and representatives of civil society organizations, UN Women’s Executive Director acknowledged their longstanding social movement spanning various spaces, generations, areas of knowledge, and professional practices, and their great actions to place gender equality at the heart of the public agenda, including through their recent achievement of a Comprehensive Law of Gender Violence. 

"I would like to congratulate and thank you all,  civil society organizations, private sector companies,  activists who have been a great inspiration  in advancing the rights of women and girls, in Chile and beyond. . I am honored to be here and to hear about the work being done on such important issues as . This region  has been a leader in many areas, from economic entrepreneurship, combating gender-based violence, leadership, governance, to care systems, and that has been invaluable to us and our partners. I am proud of all that we are accomplishing together," said Ms. Bahous. 

Laura Albornoz, Director of Empresa Nacional del Petróleo, participated in this meeting and highlighted: “The meeting of Civil Society and women leaders with the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous was important, as it allowed us to share common points the women’s rights movement has in Chile, and the gender structure of the United Nations, the remaining gaps and common challenges that women in the region still have. The process was one of active listening among us, with the Executive Director, the Regional Director and UN Women country representative Gabriela Rosero, with whom we have carried out a fruitful and systematic work”.  

Empowering indigenous women and girls to achieve Sustainable Development through the Originarias program 

Ms. Bahous met with indigenous women, members of the Mapuche cooperative Kuifi Yegen dedicated to textile and goldsmith, who have participated in UN Women program Originarias, at the Mapuche Ceremonial Center of La Pintana, to participate in a dialogue regarding the challenges and opportunities that Indigenous women residing in urban contexts face to advance their economic and social empowerment. Through greater economic and social participation, the Originarias program seeks to contribute to the empowerment of indigenous women and the recognition of their indispensable role in the sustainable development of society and territories.

“I salute you for your courage, for your resilience, for your leadership, and for sharing your perspectives with me. You have touched my heart. It is always wonderful to engage with strong women, regardless of where you come from, or where you are.  I hope that I will be able to turn this connection, this beautiful feeling into more work, more support, and more alliances with you and for you, and also to be able to promote more alliances for you, with civil society, the private sector, and the government, and those who can continue to help”, Ms. Bahous said. 

“I am very happy to have had this opportunity because it was an unreachable dream for us to meet the Executive Director of UN Women. We are a cooperative that is just starting out, with limited resources, so when we received the news, the joy we felt was enormous. For me, the support we have received from UN Women's Originarias Program is of tremendous value, thanks to this program we have been trained and gained experience to improve our businesses. Every time we have a meeting or encounter like this, we learn something new. It also allows us to connect with our sisters from other native peoples, such as the Aymara women from the north of Chile, who are with us today in this ceremonial center because we are all sisters” said Papay Luisa Quechupan, Mapuche spiritual authority, during the meeting whit indigenous women. 

Towards a Care Society with Gender Equality: UN Women partnership with ECLAC 

Ms. Bahous met with Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to highlight the strategic alliance between UN Women and ECLAC toward a care society with gender equality. Following up on the Buenos Aires Commitment, adopted in 2022, UN Women together with ECLAC, positioned Care as the main topic of discussion for the upcoming Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Mexico, in 2025.

Latin America and the Caribbean is the region leading the work towards the care society. UN Women is supporting over 15 countries in the region that are designing and implementing Comprehensive Care Systems: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. 

Galvanizing support and partnerships to achieve gender equality and the Sustainable Development

On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous participated in a high-level seminar entitled “Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development: Enhancing global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda”, which was inaugurated by Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO); and José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary and Coordinator of the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions in 2024, with the participation of Alberto van Klaveren, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, where they discuss how to enhance the global commitments around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development, which will be held in 2025. 

During her intervention, the Executive Director Sima Bahous underscored the progress that the region has made towards achieving gender equality and the economic and social empowerment of women and girls, and the need to invest with conviction and commitment to make a better world for women and girls, as we look forward to the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development.  

“Feminists in this region led the way in transforming societies, from addressing gender-based violence head-on, to fighting for equal pay. This region is also leading crucial work in recognizing unpaid work, unpaid care, and the contribution that caregivers to society, social cohesion, and the economy have on women and girls, but also on society at large. We must redouble our efforts to revitalize our policies, renew our investment, reinvigorate our partnerships to achieve gender equality, and sustainable development for the benefit of all women and girls, but also for the benefit of all of us. I have full confidence that together we can, and we should”, Ms. Bahous concluded. 

Celebrating a milestone for gender equality and the empowerment of women in Chile 

During the last day of her visit, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous visited UN Women's office in Chile, and met the country team to learn about UN Women’s work in Chile, their milestones and achievements. The Head of Office Gabriela Rosero, made a tour from 2013 to date, highlighting the impact of UN Women's work in regulations such as the Law on Harassment in the streets, wage gap and the recent comprehensive law for a life free of violence, as well as achievements in the framework of interagency coordination, the implementation of the Cooperation Framework 2023-2026 and the first Strategic Note of the Office 2024-2026. Ms. Bahous congratulated Chilean women on the establishment of a UN Women Office in the country in 2022, which marked a significant milestone in the alliance between the UN, UN Women, the Republic of Chile, and civil society in advancing gender equality.  

On the occasion, the team had the opportunity to share with the Executive Director about her career as a woman leader, her lessons learned and the challenges of UN Women at the global and national levels regarding the empowerment of women in its four strategic axes.  The team benefited from her views on the road to Beijing + 30 and the measures needed to accelerate the SDGs, especially SDG 5 on Gender Equality.