Are Latin American women riding the political wave?
Since 1990 the average number of women cabinet ministers in Latin America has risen from 9 per cent to 24 per cent, and their portfolios now include defence, internal security and external affairs, all areas previously the chasse gardée of men. The average number of female parliamentarians has grown to 18.5 per cent, but this figure glosses over the fact that one in three parliamentarians is a woman in Argentina as opposed to Brazil where the figure is one in 12. Furthermore, it is at the local level that the absence of women is most notable; in 14 countries, women account for less than 10 per cent of mayors.
