The Bachelet Government: Conflict and Consensus in Post-Pinochet Chile

7. Continuity or Change?: Gender Policy in the Bachelet Administration

7 Continuity or Change? Gender Policy in the Bachelet Administration Susan Franceschet The campaign that led to the election of Chile’s first female president was marked by the themes of continuity and change.1 On the one hand, Bachelet was the candidate of the coalition that had already been in power for sixteen years, and most of her economic and social policies represented continuity with her predecessor. On the other hand, Bachelet’s gender, her relative distance from the Concertación’s inner elite circle, and a leadership style that emphasized consultation and citizen participation all represented enormous changes from past candidates in previous elections.2 These changes mattered, especially to female voters. Bachelet’s gender and her explicit commitment to promoting women’s equality clearly resonated with female voters, a majority of whom voted for Bachelet.3 Women’s support for Bachelet was remarkable, and one of the most historically significant aspects of the election was that the electoral gender gap virtually disappeared . Traditionally, female voters in Chile have favored conservative candidates. In every previous election since the return of democracy, more women than men have voted for the candidate from the Right. In the January 2006 run-off election between Bachelet and her opponent, Sebastián Piñera, however, the gender gap disappeared when 53.5 percent of women cast their ballot for her. This figure was nearly identical to that of male voters (53.6 percent).4 The election of a female president with a strong commitment to social justice and gender equality was a momentous event for Chilean women. Although Chile’s transition to democracy ushered in many gains for women, a number of goals have remained unfulfilled. Despite the election of a woman to the highest national office, women are underrepresented in elec- Gender Policy in the Bachelet Administration · 159 toral politics, holding only 15 percent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 5 percent of seats in the Senate since the 2005 election. Other pressing issues for women include high rates of violence against women, low rates of labor force participation, sex-based discrimination in the workplace, and minimal reproductive rights and freedoms. Although some progress was made on these issues under the Concertación presidencies of Patricio Alywin , Eduardo Frei, and Ricardo Lagos, progress has been incomplete. Unlike many of its neighbors, Chile lacks gender quota legislation,5 has among the lowest rates of female labor force participation in the region,6 and is one of only two countries in Latin America to prohibit abortion under all circumstances, including cases where the mother’s life is at risk. In her presidential campaign, Bachelet frequently drew attention to the incomplete gains made by women since the transition to democracy, and promised to complete the processes initiated by her predecessors. She promised gender parity in her cabinet, support for gender quotas in politics, measures to facilitate women’s incorporation into the workforce (e.g., more daycare spaces), and greater attention to the problem of violence against women. In this chapter, I explore the patterns of policymaking on gender issues that have emerged since Bachelet’s election and assess whether the Bachelet administration represents change or continuity. Specifically, I examine three policy issues: women’s political representation, violence against women, and reproductive rights. The analysis shows that the broader patterns of politics in post-transition Chile, particularly the practice of seeking consensus not only among the parties of the Concertación but also between the Concertación and the conservative opposition, powerfully influence policymaking on gender issues. The need to achieve consensus on potentially divisive issues has reduced the possibility for more far-reaching policy initiatives that would tackle the root causes of gender inequality and improve women’s lives. But there are additional consequences. Because Chile’s consensus-based model of politics so often requires behind-the-scenes negotiation among political leaders from across the parties and key social sectors, the model is also highly elitist. As a result, the social movements (human rights, labor, and women) that emerged to protest the dictatorship and to demand the return of democracy have largely been marginalized. Hence, a fragmented women’s movement with little access to the political class and little capacity for broad-based mobilization is another factor that has undermined progress on some women’s rights initiatives. There are additional factors that shape policymaking on gender issues, 160 · Susan Franceschet however...