Academics, parliamentarians, and specialists from Latin America gathered at the School of Government to analyze the construction of gender equality within institutions and its impact on strengthening a country's democratic quality. The meeting focused on the global milestone achieved by the Chilean Senate, the first legislative chamber in the world to receive the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification. 

A delegation from the Senate of the Republic of Chile visited the School of Politics, Government and International Relations of the University of Chile on Monday, December 1st. Universidad AustralAt the meeting, academics, parliamentarians, legislative officials, and specialists from across Latin America analyzed how gender equality is built from within institutions, what transforming an organizational culture entails, and why this process strengthens a country's democratic quality. 

The Senate of Chile is the first legislative chamber in the world to obtain the Gender Equality Seal Certification from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an institutional milestone of global scope.

“With the Chilean Senate’s gender equality seal, parliamentary diplomacy and inter-parliamentary cooperation in our region demonstrate that Latin Americans are clearly capable of leading on certain progressive issues; of being ‘rule makers’ and not always ‘rule-takers’,” the professor remarked. Juan de Dios Cincunegui, director of the International Center for Parliamentary Studies, Research and Foresight of the School of Government (CIDEIPP) of the Universidad Austral. 

The day began with welcoming remarks from Cincunegui; Ornela Vanzillotta , Director General of International Relations of the Buenos Aires City Legislature and Head of Subnational Legislatures at CIDEIPP; and Klaus G. Binder , representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Argentina.

In their welcoming speeches, the three speakers emphasized that gender equality is not an add-on, but a structural component of contemporary institutional quality. 

The first presentation was given by María Fernández Trueba , Regional Gender Seal Specialist-UNDP, Regional Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean, who explained how the UNDP Gender Equality Seal works for public institutions, why it has become an international standard of excellence and what lessons can be learned from its adoption in parliaments, ministries and public bodies.

“The Seal is not a medal, it is a management tool that reorders priorities, processes, incentives and organizational culture to reduce structural gaps,” he emphasized in his presentation. 

The delegation from the Senate of Chile was made up of Senator Carmen Gloria Aravena ; the Secretary General of the Senate, Raúl Guzmán Uribe ; and the Director of Planning of that body, Claudia Fuenzalida Cereceda.

The Chilean representatives highlighted that the Andean country “did not improvise, but built institutional frameworks” and, among its main achievements, they listed the implementation of the Karin Law with robust protocols for prevention, reporting and sanction; 80% of the staff trained in workplace and sexual harassment; a lactation room open to female employees and the public; mandatory gender criteria in public procurement (minimum weighting of 7%); a manual of Inclusive and Non-Sexist Language and a modern Institutional Integrity platform, among others. 

“Chile has shown that gender equality is consolidated when it becomes institutional policy, not individual voluntarism,” the Chilean representation asserted. 

The second part of the event opened a dialogue with parliamentary leaders from Argentina, Paraguay and Latin America. 

Moderated by Professor Vanzillota, the participants included National Deputy María Rocío Abed de Zacarías (Paraguay), Vice President of the GRULAC Geopolitical Group in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); National Deputies Karina Banfi and Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina); Provincial Legislator and former National Deputy Brenda Austin (Córdoba, Argentina); and former National Deputy Patricia De Ferrari Rueda (Argentina), former Director of ICAP (Parliamentary Training Institute).

In the debate, the Argentine participants explained that the country faces a gap between advanced norms and real practices, since parity exists, but women still do not proportionally occupy committee chairmanships, administrative leadership positions, or spaces where policy is "cooked up".

Regarding Paraguay's experience, Representative Abed highlighted a key point: gender equality is a strategic priority for the IPU, and will be even more relevant in the new phase of Latin American parliamentary cooperation. 

Finally, the final session - moderated by Professor Cincunegui - was an exchange with students and professors of the International Diploma "Parliaments of the 21st Century".

In this context, emphasis was placed on the need for permanent, not temporary, mechanisms; the use of data and indicators as management tools; and the importance of training new generations of professionals with a systemic view of parliaments, equality, and democratic quality. 

“ The region has an opportunity before it: to raise institutional standards so that equality depends not on the government in power, but on the architecture of the state. This meeting provides us with concrete examples, solid evidence, and a shared vision. We will continue working, learning, and building networks to strengthen democracy from its foundations: parliaments,” Cincunegui emphasized.