Grace Jiménez-Riofrío: “Investing in women is investing in society and the future.”

^{Grace Margarita Jiménez-Riofrío in Panama City. Photo: UN Women/Jose Daniel Espinosa}

“Investing in women is investing in society and the future.”

“Politics has always been a space for men,” Jiménez-Riofrío says. “Today, it’s not only about participation, it’s about true representation. We need agendas that ensure public investment prioritizes women, because investing in women is investing in society. We are half the population and mothers of the other half.”

Jiménez-Riofrío ’s motivation is deeply personal: “Women have been denied and stripped of so much. I don’t want anything taken from us, nor given as charity. Having spaces in decision-making allows politics to have a more integral perspective. When women are in power, democracies, industries, and societies change.” Jiménez-Riofrío also highlights the importance of including women in decision-making to ensure better public policies.

Her journey began early: “When I was 15, my school told me I couldn’t pursue certain careers because I was a woman. That marked me forever. It made me want to show that we have the capacity to achieve what we set out to do.” Although acknowledging her privilege, she insists the struggle is about creating space for all women, including those “who survive with their children on 2,5 USD a day”.

She underscores the risks women face in politics in Latin America: “In countries like Ecuador, being a woman in politics is a risk. We fight not only against machismo and patriarchy but also insecurity, poverty, and inequality. That’s why we need affirmative action and strategies that allow more women to participate and be represented. This will give us a feminized vision of what democracies should be.”  Furthermore, Jiménez-Riofrío insists on creating political spaces free from all forms of violence “so women don’t abandon politics because of systemic and structural barriers.”

“Politics must become a transformative and inclusive space for all women.”

Social norms have been constant barriers: “They don’t let us speak, they occupy spaces we earned on merit, and above all, they invisibilize us. But that also gives us strength. Feminism today has many faces, women from all countries, with diverse struggles. That diversity allows us to recognize each other, support each other, and build a better country for girls and women.”

These norms also influence the agendas that women in politics are entrusted with: “Running a political campaign for a man is not the same as for a woman. Decisions have already been made for us; we’ve been assigned the role of caregivers. Today, women’s agendas go far beyond debates on voluntary termination of pregnancy; for instance, in Ecuador, women are debating laws on access to water and land. We need to return to the core of why women are demanding rights, acknowledge those rights as human rights, and support these struggles beyond our own spaces, always expanding toward new horizons.” 

Grace Jiménez-Riofrío joined the two-day intergenerational dialogue “Advancing Women’s Equal Participation in Decision-Making in Latin America and the Caribbean,” which took place on 27-28 November in Panama City. The Convening took place under the WYDE | Women’s Leadership initiative, funded by the European Union, which is a collaborative global effort aimed at advancing women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind.