The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Argentina actively works to promote gender equality and sexual diversity across all its initiatives. This commitment is closely linked to its intense work on human development and the realization of human rights. In this regard, and within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as stated in Goal 5, gender equality is essential for achieving equitable development, improving living conditions, and expanding the decision-making capacities of all people.

For this reason, UNDP has worked over the years through its Country Programme, to mainstream a perspective on gender equality into public policies; to design specific policies for the promotion of gender equality and women's rights; to strenghten technical capacities for the promotion of gender equality; and to develop monitoring and follow-up tools with a gender perspective. It has also promoted the building of alliances and consensus for the achievement of gender equality and has developed actions to coordinate experiences at the national level with those at the Latin American and global levels.

How UNDP Works on Gender Equality and Sexual Diversity

UNDP adopts the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action, mainstreaming gender equality and developing specific strategies to promote gender equality and women’s rights.

Mainstreamig is a methodology for integrating gender equality and the promotion of women’s rights into public policies, programmes, and projects.

Building a more egalitarian society requires strategies that both integrate the interests and needs of women and men throughout all stages of public policy (mainstreaming) and support initiatives that recognize, promote, and protect women’s rights (empowerment).

This approach aims to make the different needs and interests of women and men a central element in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programmes across all political, economic, and social spheres, ensuring that both women and men benefit equally and that inequality is not perpetuated. The process seeks to identify existing gender inequalities and gaps and to promote actions that contribute to their elimination.

In the same vein, UNDP works from a sexual diversity perspective with the ultimate goal of contributing to the full realization of rights for LGBTIQ+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer). The approach focuses on the distinct needs of each identity within the LGBTIQ+ spectrum and the intersectionalities that exist among them.

As it is known, sexual diversity encompasses all sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and non-binary bodily diversities. This means recognizing both the commonalities and differences among and within these categories when designing, planning, implementing, evaluating, and monitoring public policies. On this basis, UNDP works to support government counterparts in integrating this perspective into policy design and implementation, while also assisting civil society in various initiatives that promote empowerment and visibility.

Types of Contributions made by UNDP to Promote Gender Equality and Sexual Diversity

• Design and support for all processes to mainstream gender and sexual diversity.
• Development and implementation of specific initiatives to promote gender equality, women’s rights, and the rights of LGBTIQ+ population.
• Technical assistance and capacity building to promote gender equality and sexual diversity.
• Building alliances and consensus to achieve gender equality.
• Articulating experiences at the national level with those existing at Latin American and global levels.
• Monitoring and evaluation of performance indicators and processes that are sensitive to gender and sexual diversity.
• Working from an intersectional perspective, with an emphasis on indigenous and rural women and men, women with disabilities, and women in vulnerable situations.

Key Issues Addressed

• Tools for mainstreaming the gender equality approach in the public and private sectors (Gender Equality Seal).
• Economic autonomy, financial inclusion, and digital divide.
• Combating gender-based violence: prevention, strengthening of comprehensive care services, and improvement of statistical data.
• Political participation and parity.
• Care issues: shared responsibility, mapping of care services, and assessment of care costs at the local level.
• Masculinities: shared responsibility in caregiving, comprehensive health, and prevention of gender-based violence.
• Sexual diversity: access to and the exercise of transgender rights.