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Francia Márquez, an activist, lawyer and Vice President of Colombia, is chairing the new ministry. Photo: Mídia Ninja via flickr, CC BY-NC 4.0
(Bogotá, 03. July 2023, Colombia INFORMS).- On June 30th, the newly created Ministry of Gender Equality, chaired by Francia Márquez, was officially approved. From Guajira, the government announced the goals of this new agency, which it is also fulfilling one of its election promises.
From the outset, the government of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez has set itself the goal of closing the enormous gaps in inequality that exist in Colombia and are reflected in international rankings. In the last week of June, the decree that regulates the new ministry was finally issued in Guajira. A few days later, Francia Márquez was sworn in as Minister for Equality Francia Márquez.
The Vice-President and newly sworn minister said: “The ministry we are formalizing today will resolve the urgencies that have been ignored for decades. The urgencies that were lost in bureaucracy because state institutions did not recognize the inequalities that prevail in our country.”
The Ministry for Equal Opportunities is divided into five deputy ministries:
The Vice-Ministry for Women The Vice-Ministry for Youth The Vice-Ministry for Excluded Societies and Territories The Vice-Ministry for Diversity The Vice-Ministry for Ethnic Groups and Farmers
He has a budget of 500 billion pesos (approx. 109 million euros) at his disposal. However, this amount is much less than it first appears when compared, for example, to the expenditures of the defense, education and health ministries. Their budgets are between 48 trillion pesos (approx. 10 billion euros) and 54 trillion pesos (approx. 12 billion euros).
One of the goals of the ministry is, among other things, the inclusion of the different population groups and the prevention of violence against women. The ministry focuses on women, LGTBIQ+ people, farmers, young people, people with disabilities, the homeless and migrants.
Various authorities will be integrated into this new ministry, such as this Family Welfare Institute (ICBF, Institute for Family Wellbeing), das National Institute for the Deaf (INSOR, National Institute for the Deaf) and that National Institute for the Blind (INCI, National Institute for the Blind).
A ranking by the NGO OXFAM shows that Colombia, with a Gini index of 0.52, ranks second in Latin America in terms of inequality in the country. This is shown quite strikingly by the fact that four Colombians own more assets than 25 million other inhabitants combined.
The most marginalized population groups have great expectations and hope for concrete measures from the new ministry that will lead to alleviation of the existing problems – this is also one of the major goals of Colombia’s progressive government.