Paraguay

ASUNCION (Reuters) - In Paraguay's election on Sunday, Soledad Nunez, a 40-year-old engineer and former minister, is looking to break into the South American country's male-dominated political arena as its first elected female vice president.

The women’s training programme, led by the national Electoral Management Body in cooperation with International IDEA, earned an Honorable Mention in the Gender Equality category in the first edition of the Global Network on Electoral Justice Awards for meeting the main criterion of contributing to a concrete and measurable increase in gender parity in public life.

In a region that has seen the greatest progress in political gender equality in the last two decades, Paraguay stands out, but for the wrong reasons: it has the third-lowest percentage of women in parliament in the Americas, with 17.5%, roughly half the regional average of 33.9%. When considering other elective positions, the divide widens.

Polite, buoyant, and idealist: In many ways, Sol Arrúa comes across as a regular 21-year-old. However, as soon as we bring up the subjects of politics and leadership, which she is most passionate about, it becomes clear that there is much more about Sol than meets the eye. 

Pushing gender parity and youth participation to the forefront of the political agenda

On the occasion of the Day of the Paraguayan Women, celebrated today, 24 February, a group of female workers have called for a greater participation of women in politics in Paraguay, in order to improve their social rights. Most of these women are in the informal economy, and many of them are artisans, domestic workers or owners of stalls.

In Paraguay, the Ministry of Women, along with the Superior Electoral Court, UN Women and UNDP have developed the project + MujeresMejorDemocracia.