Women in Argentina

Women in Argentina have attained a relatively high level of equality by Latin American standards, and in the Global Gender Gap Report prepared by the World Economic Forum in 2009, Argentine women ranked 24th among 134 countries studied in terms of their access to resources and opportunities relative to men. They enjoy comparable levels of education, and somewhat higher school enrollment ratios than their male counterparts. They are well integrated in the nation's cultural and intellectual life, though less so in the nation's economy. Their economic clout in relation to men is higher than in most Latin American countries, however, and numerous Argentine women hold top posts in the Argentine corporate world; among the best known are Cris Morena, owner of the television production company by the same name, María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, former CEO and majority stakeholder of Loma Negra, the nation's largest cement manufacturer, and Ernestina Herrera de Noble, director of Grupo Clarín, the premier media group in Argentina.

Following President Juan Perón's enactment of women's suffrage in 1949, First Lady Evita Perón led the Peronist Women's Party until her death in 1952, and helped enhance the role of women in Argentine society. Women played a significant role as both supporters and opponents of the National Reorganization Process, Argentina's last dictatorship, in the late 1970s, and the establishment of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an advocacy group led by mothers of the disappeared, was done by Azucena Villaflor de Vicenti and, mostly, other women, on the rationale that they would be less likely to be the targets of repression (Villaflor de Vicenti and her fellow founders were murdered by the regime in 1977). Women's rights in Argentina progressed in significant ways following the return of democracy in 1983. President Raúl Alfonsín signed laws in 1987 both limiting Patria potestas (the latitude given to a father regarding his treatment of fellow household members, particularly children) and legalizing divorce, helping resolve the legal status of 3 million adults living in legal separation. A congressional bill signed by President Carlos Menem in 1992 provides that one-third of the members of both houses of congress must be women, a goal achieved through balanced election slates. As of 2006, there were 29 women in the 72-seat Senate, 86 women in the 257-seat Argentine Chamber of Deputies, two female Supreme Court justices, and three women in the presidential cabinet. The President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was elected in 2007; the runner-up in the crowded field was also a woman, Elisa Carrió.

Argentine women face numerous systemic challenges common to those in other nations, however. Domestic violence in Argentina is a serious problem, as are obstacles to the timely prosecution of rape, the prevalence of sexual harassment, and a persistent gender gap in pay, among other iniquities.