Taking Stock of Gender Equality in Colombia: An Overview

Project: Political Economy of Reconciliation

The latest Hub report from Hub members at Universidad de los Andes and Dejusticia provides an overview of women and gender in Colombian society, politics and the economy during periods of armed conflict and peacebuilding. It is based on official statistics as well as on data collected by the authors. The document is designed to serve as a point of reference for scholars, policymakers and civil society leaders seeking a broad description of how the situation of women has evolved over the past years in the country.

The report finds that, while access to education for women has improved significantly over the past years, women are often at a disadvantage in terms of access to formal labour markets, land and leadership positions. Similarly, while women have played a role in formal politics for several decades and gender quotas have been introduced to foster women’s participation in the formal political arena, there are still significant gaps in the extent to which women are included in political processes and their needs addressed in public policymaking.