WUNRN
CUBA – WOMEN’S WORK – GENDER EQUALITY IN CUBA & THE
ROLE OF WOMEN BUILDING CUBA’S FUTURE – RESEARCH REPORT
Direct Link to Full 93-Page 2013 Report: http://democracyinamericas.org/pdfs/CDA_Womens_Work.pdf
The Center for Democracy in the Americas has published the results of our two-year study on gender equality in Cuba. In it, we write about Cuba’s gender equality achievements that have captured global attention, serious short-comings that hold Cuban women back and the prospects for gender equality as Cuba seeks to reverse its economic crisis.
CDA (Center for Democracy in the
Americas) was able to tell this story with the aid of scholars in Cuba and the
U.S., and after a comprehensive review of international academic research and
studies on the comparative economic, social and political standing of women in
Cuba and women globally.
Most of all,
our on-the-ground research enabled us to interview dozens of Cuban women whose
diverse views and candid voices ring vividly throughout our report.
“I was born
in the Revolution. It has given me opportunities.” Emilia Fernández, an
Afro-Cuban, who speaks Russian, English, and Spanish, to CDA.
The report
begins in the 1950s, before the Cuban revolution came to power, describing the
commitments it made to protect and expand the rights and opportunities of women
and girls.
We focus on
six policies that have since produced big changes in their lives: improvements
in life expectancy, literacy, and health; a tripling of the number of working
women; more women than men now getting college and graduate degrees; and
advances giving Cuba the lowest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the region. Cuba
now meets the Millennium Development Goals for primary education, infant
mortality, and gender equality.
Despite
Cuba’s high rankings by organizations from Save the Children to the World
Economic Forum, these accomplishments are met with skepticism even disbelief by
some in the U.S.; because Cuba has a tiny economy, it is not capitalist or rich
and, by U.S. standards, it is not free.
Yet, the
numbers don’t tell the whole story.
“I’ve had
the sad experience of a male boss telling me ‘Hey – don’t even think about
having a baby, because you’re going to throw your career out the window. Don’t
have a baby and don’t get married.’ The culture is still very machista.” Mimi
Faguaga to CDA
Our research
shows, and many Cuban women agree, that measured against key objectives of
gender equality – do women have access to higher-paying jobs; can they achieve
a fair division of labor at work and home; are they acceding to positions of
real power in the communist party or government– Cuba has a long way to go.
“The current
‘updating’ of the economic model in the country could have repercussions on the
development women have achieved.” Norma Vasallo, President of the Women’s
Studies Department at the University of Havana, to CDA
These issues
really matter now, because actions taken by Cuba to restore its economy could
also endanger gains made by women, even though there is broad agreement in
development policy that gender equality is a human right and correlates to economic success and
good governance.
So, our report concludes with policy recommendations so that Cuban women are able to play an expanding role in building their country’s future even as it navigates tough economic times.