Initiative to promote gender equity

Wednesday afternoon, the National Parity Council was instituted, a step for the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goal (ODS) number five, which speaks, precisely, of gender equity.

President Juan Carlos Varela and the vice president Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado signed the decree that gives life to the agency, and also put their rubric in the document that regulates the Law 56 of 2017, which establishes the participation of women on the boards of companies.


The council, from now on, will follow up on both the Government and the private sector implementing measures to promote female labor participation, and minimize gender wage gaps, among other aspects.

Business managers, bankers, scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, teachers. White women, black women, indigenous women. A large group of the female sector attended the event.

It is estimated that the gross domestic product of the region would grow by $2.5 trillion if the labor participation gender gap were completely closed. This, according to data from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), an ally of this initiative.

Varela, for his part, argued that this initiative seeks to close gaps and obstacles that separate women from their legitimate right to occupy a dignified place in Panamanian society.

"There will be no full development for any society in the world if the legal, political, social and economic mechanisms are not created so that women receive not only the treatment, but the just opportunities that their talents, abilities and rights they deserve".

The event also highlighted a group of companies that have committed themselves to the seal of equality, as a result of their commitment to women’s empowerment. They are: Argos, Banesco, Publi 4, Melo, Telefonica, National Hospitals, Banco General, Banistmo and Copa.