June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Each year we commemorate efforts to eradicate discriminatory practices based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The Latin American and Caribbean region has seen uneven progress on that journey, but it has also taken very important steps to ensure that LGBTQ+ people live, work, develop and dream on equal terms. For example, 40% of countries … [Read more...] about Portraying LGBTQ+ Pride is Celebrating Inclusion
Women’s Leadership Programs: Why Do We Create Them and How?
The power of online courses or MOOCs Several years ago, I was visiting a Bank project in a very small locality near Huancavelica, in Peru. While waiting for the rest of the team in the central square, a woman who seemed to know me approached me. Affectionately, she asked me: "Miss, are you the teacher from the IDB?" For a few seconds, I was somewhat confused and … [Read more...] about Women’s Leadership Programs: Why Do We Create Them and How?
Three Areas of Work for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence
When we talk about gender-based violence or violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean, the numbers are significant. Significant in the prevalence of the issue: 25% of women in the region have been victims of physical or sexual violence by their intimate partners. If we include violence outside of intimate relationships, this number increases to 34%. The numbers … [Read more...] about Three Areas of Work for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence
Five Ways to Integrate Indigenous Identity into International Development Projects
"From there" - that's what the first part of the word "Indigenous" means. The suffix "genus" means "born" or "originated." In essence, this term, derived from Latin, means "originated from there." The origins, the "from there" of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, are diverse. There are more than 800 cultures present in the region. This "from there" … [Read more...] about Five Ways to Integrate Indigenous Identity into International Development Projects
Three Actions to Support LGBTQ+ Inclusion from an International Organization
How recent is the addition of LGBTQ+ issues in policy agendas to promote inclusion? Let's put it into perspective. No longer than 50 years ago, the American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a mental disorder. Some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean decriminalized same-sex relationships in the 19th century, while others did so less than 20 years … [Read more...] about Three Actions to Support LGBTQ+ Inclusion from an International Organization