Care and women's rights amidst the rise of the far-right: reflections from Argentina

After being the centre of the NiUnaMenos movement and the green wave of reproductive rights in Latin America, Argentina created its own Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity. In this context, new policies were launched to recognize and redistribute care and to achieve economic equality. 

• What has been the outcome 4 years later? 
• What were the difficulties and lessons learned? 
• How does a feminist perspective in public management work?
• What will happen to this agenda now that the new government is openly hostile to feminism and denies the pay gap? 

ISS alumna Lucía Cirmi Obon will talk about how she put the results of her research paper into practice once she was in public management. She will also talk about the gaps between theory and practice.

ISS scholars Sreerekha Sathi and Kaira Zoe Canete will reflect on the Argentinian experience from the perspective of Asian contexts.

About the speaker

Lucía Cirmi Obon is a Magna Cum Laude Economist (UBA-ARG) and holds an ISS Masters degree in Development Studies with distinction. 

She was the first National Director of Care Policies of Argentina (2020-2021) and Under Secretary of Equality Policies (2022-2023) in the country’s first Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity. She was in charge of designing and leading policies such as REGISTRADAS (for domestic workers), 'Cuidar en Igualdad' (care system), 'Sello Igualar' (equality in companies), Progresar (universal students cash transfer policy) and many others.  

In 2023 she published Economía para Sostener la Vida (AKAL Editors 2023). 

She is a leader of the association of women economists 'Parity in macroeconomics', a teacher at UBA and the TEA School of Journalism as well as an international consultant. 

She thinks that all those titles are worthless if they are not put at the service of working for more equality, in all senses.