In the last few days, we’ve watched a lot of speculation about who could eventually integrate Brazil’s new government from 2023, when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will assume the third term presidency.
We know that management will have to choose priorities, and of course it is crucial to recognize the importance of choosing good cadres to meet the enormous challenges ahead. If Brazil wants to mobilize its international capital to enhance its reputation in the world and advance its interests, it will therefore take more than a good plan, but also consistency and constancy of principles in the defense of certain values.
Lula wants to reposition Brazil as a socially just and environmentally responsible country. He talks about saving our credibility and our pride. From trade and investment to cultural promotion, it has treated foreign policy as a strategic axis for building the image we rightfully want to be recognized.
If the goal is to make the global arena a gateway for the country’s new identities, the first step can come from a powerful gesture: appointing a woman as chancellor. At least ten reasons objectively justify this decision:
1) because it would be unprecedented in Brazil. It is worth noting that only Brazil and Uruguay have never had a female Foreign Minister in Latin America. As a parameter, it is important to note that Colombia has seven, while countries such as Peru, Suriname and Ecuador have four.
2) because, without heroism, women have concrete limitations on their contribution to Brazilian foreign policy, especially if they do not reach positions of command to influence its formulation. A study by researchers Rogério Farias and Géssica Carmo indicates that from 1958 to 2015, two-thirds (66.16%) of women retired in the mid-levels of the diplomatic career, compared to two-thirds of men (62.45%). Taller. There has never been a policy trying to reverse this stagnant situation in the career flow of female diplomats.
3) because it will be a way to acknowledge the demand for equal opportunity in the careers of women diplomats who have been voicing at Itamaraty for nearly a decade. This is a legitimate mobilization that is part of an international phenomenon defined around the world. For Brazilian diplomats, the “ceiling” is real and it deters them from this journey. Even if the chosen one is not a diplomat from Itamaraty, the appointment of a woman will tend to raise the body’s attention to career streams and related issues.
4) because the lack of commitment to gender equality at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) is in stark contrast to the commitments Brazil has made abroad in terms of women’s rights.
5) because diplomacy is the country’s representation abroad, and this representation is now almost entirely male, which contradicts the demographic reality of the country. Data published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) shows that 51.1% of the Brazilian population in 2021 is female. Women’s participation in the population has been higher than men’s since the start of the historic series in 2012.
6) because Brazil ranks 133rd in the global ranking of the percentage of female ambassadors in foreign capitals in 2021. According to the “Gender in Bilateral Diplomacy” ranking by the University of Guthenburg, this means that only about 13% of female diplomats are occupied. command positions in our diplomatic service.
7) because since 2014 Brazil broke away from the global trend to increase the number of female ambassadors in overseas positions and has since experienced a strong rebound in this trend as the leading research center on diplomacy and gender at the University of Gutenburg. .
8) because other ministries around the world are adopting actions aimed at gender inclusion and we cannot and should not be left behind. Official inclusion policies are already a reality in countries such as the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, South Africa, Chile and Australia.
9) because it is necessary to encourage our women to aim to represent the country before the international community. Women in leadership can even increase interest and access to diplomacy competition in Brazil. If a projection is made on the percentage of women admitted to the diplomatic career since the 1950s, when they began to be admitted to the diplomatic academy, based on the data from the Rio Branco Institute’s yearbook, it is concluded that there is parity in recruitment. achievable only in 2110. This is unreasonable.
10) Because it is important for the new administration to oppose the previous government practically and symbolically. It would be a clear response to the misogynistic and hostile policy towards women in Brazil over the past few years.
The time has passed for us to do the right thing. In the words of Angela Davis: not accepting what we cannot change and changing what we cannot accept.
source: Noticias
