During the 8th session of the 9th Legislature, the members of the Youth, Childhood and Women’s Equal Rights Commission described the results to date of that initiative as valuable.

According to the secretary-general of the Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boue, the Program reflects the need to intensify the development of public policies and promote education with a gender approach in families and communities.

Among the main results, the lawmaker acknowledged a rise in Cuban women’s employment from 37 to 39 percent, as well as the participation rate to 53.3 percent.

Only this year, she said, 49,000 women joined work.

The sector’s participation in decision making has also increased to represent to date more than half of the positions of the country’s State and Government and the Municipal People’s Power assemblies.

Professor Clotilde Proveyer, a member of the working group for the initiative, recalled the work done by the FMC to fight this scourge since 1977 in order to comply with the agreements reached at the Beijing Conference.

For her part, Mariela Castro, director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), insisted on accompanying the legislative changes with the formation of educational values to eradicate gender-based violence.

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