Public policies and gender justice

Gender justice has become a fundamental element of social equity, a challenge to democratic coexistence, and a prerequisite for sustainable development. The State, as guarantor of social equity, has a responsibility to undertake initiatives to correct gender inequalities and inequities and to restructure itself in order to prevent the perpetuation of the system of gender restrictions inherited from patriarchal culture.

Addressing and overcoming inequalities is one of the most urgent challenges facing Latin American societies in order to sustain democratic coexistence and advance sustainable development processes. This will hardly be possible without public policies that address gender inequalities and inequities, which are linked, intersected, and reinforced by ethnic and racial inequalities, inequalities related to the life cycle, and territorial inequalities.

Public policies are a fundamental tool for driving the economic, political, social, and cultural transformations essential for advancing gender justice. Most states in Latin America and the Caribbean have implemented public agendas in recent decades to address the main gender gaps and barriers; however, progress is slow, and significant discrimination and problems persist, such as gender-based violence, political underrepresentation, overrepresentation in poverty, the disproportionate burden of caregiving responsibilities on women, and the lack of recognition of a range of economic, social, and cultural rights that limit women's decision-making capacity and autonomy. All of this demonstrates that power structures have not been substantially modified and that structural gender distinctions remain in the region's societies.

GENERAL PURPOSE

The main purpose of the Seminar is to deepen the analysis and debates related to gender inequalities in the region and the actions of States as guarantors of social equity, as well as to provide conceptual, methodological and instrumental frameworks that allow them to understand the formulation process and the importance of public policies as tools to correct gender inequalities and advance gender justice.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

That the students 

• Identify and analyze the main political, social, economic, and cultural trends present in the global, regional, and national context and explain

how they affect situations of equality and gender equity and the generation and management of public policies.

• Learn about and be able to apply different theoretical and methodological approaches to address situations of inequality and gender exclusion.
• Explain the content and scope of the concept of gender justice and establish its relationship with public policies.
• Describe and explain the role of the State and especially public policies as agents of gender equality.
• Analyze the public policy generation cycle from a critical gender perspective.
• Learn about and use methodologies for evaluating public policies for gender equality and equity.
• Value gender justice as a condition for coexistence, democracy and sustainable development.

• A look at the regional socio-political context and main public problems from a gender perspective
• A systemic look at gender gaps, barriers and restrictions, theories and approaches for addressing them
• Gender Justice and the Role of the State
• Public policies, public decisions and gender equality
• Gender-focused public policy analysis

• Aguirre Rosario, García Sainz Cristina and Carrasco Cristina (2005) Time, the times, a yardstick of inequality. Women and Development Series No. 65. ECLAC, Santiago, Chile.
• Benavente Riquelme María Cristina and Alejandra Valdés Barrientos, (2014) “Public policies for gender equality: a contribution to the autonomy of women”, ECLAC Books, No. 130 (LC/G.2620-P), Santiago de Chile, (ECLAC),
• Carrasco, Cristina (2016) Times in conflict, unsustainable societies, necessary dialogues. Journal of Critical Economics, Association of Critical Economics, vol. 22. 
• Cliche, G., Ranaboldo, C., Serrano, C. (2015) “Territorial approach for the empowerment of rural women. In Latin America and the Caribbean”. Lima, IEP; Nuevas Trenzas.
• Diez, María Laura (2004). Reflections on interculturality. Anthropology Notebooks
• Oszlak, Oscar and Guillermo O'Donnell (1982), “State and state policies in Latin America: towards a research strategy”, Venezuelan Journal of Administrative Development, No. 1, Caracas
• Pérez Orozco, Amaia. "Multidimensional Crisis and Sustainability of Life." Feminist Research, vol. 2, 2011.
• Zapata Martha, Galindo Sabina García Peter Jennifer Chan de Avila Editors (2012) Intersectionality in Debate. Institute of Latin American Studies Freie Universität Berlin

The basic requirements for taking a seminar are:

• Availability of at least 4 hours per week to dedicate to the seminar course.
• Internet access.
• Reasonable handling of communication and computer tools.
• Language proficiency in the language in which the course will be taught. The official languages ​​are Spanish and Portuguese.

The seminars last 12 weeks, plus the completion of a final project. A total of 90 hours of dedication will be credited.

A course consists of twelve classes, each accompanied by required readings, supplementary readings, discussion forums, and learning activities proposed by the teaching team, as well as partial submissions and a final project. The course is delivered online and asynchronously. Some instructors may propose synchronous activities. In these cases, the time and date will be agreed upon in advance between the teaching team and the students to ensure everyone's participation. To pass the seminar, students must participate in at least 80% of the discussion forums and activities proposed by the instructors, complete all scheduled partial submissions, and pass the final project.

The possible payment methods are credit card, bank transfer and bank deposit.