28 June 2012: The Central American Integration System’s (SICA) Council of Women’s Affairs Ministers (COMMCA) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) convened the first Regional Conference on the Economic Rights of Women, with a focus on entrepreneurship, public policies and access to capital in the SICA member countries of Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

The event was held from 27-28 June 2012, at BCIE headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with support from UN Women and the Gender Affairs Division of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). It aimed to analyze and recommend concrete actions to promote changes at the regional level in both the public and the private sectors for the proper integration and participation of women in economic and social development.

The Conference discussed mechanisms to promote the development of strategic alliances that include international organizations, funding agencies, academic institutions, private companies, media and civil society, in order to raise awareness on issues related to the effective incorporation of women in economic and social development of the region, and to contribute to effective recognition of women’s economic rights.

The Conference generated general conclusions and recommendations which the President Pro Tempore of COMMCA, Honduras, promised to communicate to the semiannual Summit of SICA Heads of Government scheduled for 29 June 2012.

Also during the Conference, COMMCA officials signed a formal request to BCIE to study the feasibility of providing support to COMMCA and UN Women in the design of a Women’s Entrepreneurship Observatory, mapping potential donors and sponsoring related workshops. [BCIE Press Release (in Spanish)] [Conference Presentations]