Deans of law schools in Chile come together to address the participation of women in management positions.

The first meeting of the Deans of Law Schools in Chile was dedicated to the role played by women in leadership positions in the fields of Law in the 5st century in Chile. Today there are only XNUMX women who hold the positions of Deans in the area of ​​Law in our country, both in public and private universities. The role that they have had to live is to open the paths to the new generations in the search for a more inclusive country, where citizens have equal opportunities regardless of their gender.

The Deans recognize that it was the courage of the young university students in the country that raised this challenge in Chile, which is currently being part of the agendas of different levels of society, from the Armed Forces to the Judiciary. From the academy, one of the first tasks will be to make a cadastre of the participation of women in managerial positions in Chilean universities.

This challenge is framed within the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) signed by Chile in 2015, specifically in objective number 5 declared by the UN, which states: "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. This end is one of the 17 SDGs and an essential element of all dimensions of Sustainable Development. Among the 9 targets linked to SDG 5 seeks to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls throughout the world. The UN points out that one of the goals to achieve this goal is to "encourage more women to become leaders in all regions, which will help strengthen policies and laws aimed at achieving greater gender equality." However, it also recognizes that among the obstacles to be overcome are "the unequal division of unpaid work -both domestic and in the care of other people- and discrimination in decision-making in the public sphere."

The Deans seek to contribute to SDG 5 by focusing on the UN goal of "Ensuring the full and effective participation of women and equal opportunities for leadership at all decision-making levels in political, economic, and public life."

The Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universidad Mayor, Clara Szczaranski, expressed that she shares the concern: “From our vision, inclusion in its broadest sense is the way forward for our open and globalized societies. It is essentially about not discriminating, in all areas. This is the deep conjugation of the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that guides this University and that has taken us to the outside world, accrediting us in the USA. And, of course, as a lawyer I see in this the need for institutional changes regarding the role of working women, and also academics, recognizing legal parity in the management of the family, a matter that is still contradictory. For Diario Constitucional it is a challenge to investigate the gaps that still exist in our legal system. It is not enough to declare equality: it must be implemented and lived!

For her part, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the University of La Serena, Luperfina Rojas, pointed out that "the universities in their origins did not contemplate closely or intensely those of us who are currently the majority in the world, nor did they formally they contemplated all the diversities and sensibilities that are manifested today. It is a great challenge that from the regions we actively commit a heterogeneous participation within the university. If we understand the above as an opportunity, it will be given by how to incorporate not only the new generations in universities, but also by how to recognize in them spaces for those who legitimately have the right to participate in and in their structures, above all. everything in their high spheres of decision”.  

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the SEK University, Macarena Fernández, indicated: “I think that academics should dare to apply for positions, there should be no reason for differences in the election if the requirements are met. requirements. We must raise awareness and encourage the active participation of women in academic faculty. I am lucky to belong to a university that has a rector as its leader. In my four-degree faculty under my supervision, three are directed by women in addition to having an academic secretary.”

Finally, the Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Business Sciences of the University of La Frontera, Valeska Geldres, stated that from the south the inclusion of women in leadership positions is even more distant and that inclusion also means decentralization in the decision making. In addition, she emphasized: "I firmly believe that the perspective of women in decision-making is something that our country needs and we want to contribute from academia to advance on this path."