Paper short abstract:

This comparative research focuses on political participation as it is conceptualized and practiced among indigenous and Afro-descendant women in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.

Paper long abstract:

This research is focused on the participation in politics of indigenous and Afro-descendant women in Latin America with the following goals: a) to provide an update on the current regulations and institutional framework in place in each of the countries with indigenous and Afro-descendant populations (constitutions, municipal legislation, quota regulations); b) to identify the current electoral and political party systems; record the different expressions and conceptions of the political participation concept and analyze the changes occurred in women's leadership modes in the last few decades; and c) to account for the progress and regression in elections and decision-making processes within their own communities and organizations as well as at the national and local levels. In general terms, by interweaving the gender perspective with an ethnographic point of view, the research aims to promote women's rights, gender equality, participation and political leadership in the region. We systematized the inquiry and the analysis of the evidence it yielded on women's participation and leadership in six countries of the region: Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. This study was undertaken within the framework of the project: "Strengthening Governance from a Gender Perspective and Women's Political Participation at the Local Level in Latin America - Phase 2, 2010- 2013 (UN Women-Santo Domingo).