In the Atenea Political Parity Index, the Dominican Republic scores 49.2 out of 100, revealing significant strides and ongoing challenges in women's political rights.
Photo: Central Electoral Board DR
Latin American Post Staff
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Leer en español: Paridad de género en República Dominicana: avances y desafíos revelados
Evaluating Gender Parity in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has been evaluated in the Atenea Political Parity Index (IPP), scoring 49.2 out of 100, a revealing measure of the nation's progress and the challenges in achieving gender parity in politics. This regional initiative, jointly conducted by various United Nations bodies, assesses the state of women's political rights from a parity perspective.
The IPP, crafted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), was detailed in a report released by the UNDP's Santo Domingo office this Tuesday.
Judicial and Electoral Strength
Covering eight dimensions, the Dominican Republic's highest score was in the judiciary and electoral field, surpassing 60 points with a score of 62.3. However, the greatest weakness was observed in evaluating national commitments to equality in the constitution and legal framework, garnering only 30 points.
In the remaining six dimensions, scores ranged from 42 to 56 points, indicating that the country is halfway towards achieving full political participation parity for Dominican women. These dimensions and their respective scores are political parties (56.4), executive power and public administration (54.9), the existence of quota or parity mechanisms (51.1), women's suffrage rights (49.3), legislative power (47.1), and local government (42.2).
Ongoing Challenges in Gender Equality
Despite significant measures to foster political parity and advancements in women's political-electoral participation in the Dominican Republic, achieving gender equality in the political arena remains a crucial challenge for ensuring the democratization of politics, the report stated.
The data highlight the persistent resistance of party leadership to promote and ensure equitable participation of women compared to men, representing one of the main barriers.
With this analysis, the Dominican Republic joins other Latin American and Caribbean countries that have developed the Atenea IPP, including Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Brazil.
The findings were announced at the headquarters of the Dominican Central Electoral Board (JCE), with attendees including JCE president Román Jáquez Liranzo, UNDP Resident Representative Inka Mattila, German Ambassador Maike Friedrichsen, and Dominican Deputy Minister of Women Amada Manzueta.
Commitment to Progress
Jáquez Liranzo valued this assessment regarding parity to guide the country toward an egalitarian and participatory state, where women's political-electoral rights can be fully exercised.
Mattila emphasized that the UNDP, as a development agency of the United Nations System, has made its national, regional, and global knowledge network available to the state to measure progress and persistent obstacles in the equitable participation of women.
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This comprehensive report and the index score are crucial for understanding the Dominican Republic's current standing in gender parity in politics. It also sheds light on the areas where further efforts and reforms are needed to ensure equal participation of women in the political landscape, an essential component of a truly democratic society.
