Argentina

2,504 women from rural and indigenous communities in three Argentine provinces (Chaco, Formosa, and Salta) enhanced their digital and financial skills to develop economic activities in at least 10 productive sectors with the support of UN Women through the Womek project, funded by the Google Foundation. Of these, 471 women benefited from grants of USD 2,500 to strengthen and advance their businesses. These grants facilitated the implementation of 40 business plans led by indigenous and rural women�s associations, focusing on strengthening and diversifying their productive activities. Additionally, 10 cooperatives and associations linked to value chains such as handicrafts, carob production, small-scale goat farming, agroforestry, and sewing received over USD 10,000 in funding and implemented business plans to collaboratively improve their ventures, positively impacting more than 150 women. An impact study shows that 91% of the women who received grants reported an increase in sales, and 93% of the surveyed women stated they were able to keep their businesses open, contributing to the achievement of SUstainable Development Goals (SDG) 8. Additionally, 76.1% of the women used virtual wallets as a financial tool, reflecting a broad adoption of technology within the program. This data is significant because it demonstrates how training in digital and financial tools allowed participants to access more modern and efficient systems for managing income and payments, contributing to a reduction in inequalities in technology use (SDG 10). Another outcome of the project was that three participating leaders ran for and were elected to the governing board of their broader community. This participation positions them to play a crucial role in the management and control of land resources, furthering the achievement of SDGs 10 and 8. In addition, 412 young women from the province of Buenos Aires expanded their knowledge and opportunities for personal and professional development, contributing to reducing the inequalities faced by young women. This was made possible through over 60 training sessions, mentoring, activities, referrals, and visits to public, private, and academic institutions, all supported by UN Women through the �Girls with Future� project, funded by the Merck Family Foundation. Furthermore, more than 40 representatives from the Municipality of Ezeiza and 7 cooperatives and social organizations increased their capacity to address and influence the community, developing empowerment and leadership programs for adolescents and young women through a training-of-trainers initiative provided by UN Women in collaboration with the SES Foundation.

In terms of changes in the national normative framework, two important achievements to which UN Women in Argentina contributed are worth highlighting regarding the fullfiting of the Sustainable Development Goal 5.4. The Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity along with other national departments elaborated the draft bill: Creation of the integral system of care policies of Argentina (SINCA in Spanish). The draft bill proposed, among other aspects, the modification of parental leave regimes in Argentina and fostered the investments in the care economy. The bill was discussed in the committee of the Chamber of Deputies, among others, and awaits its treatment in the plenary of that Chamber. UN Women contributed to the drafting of the bill, for the elaboration of the section on care for older adults, and through a joint document between the agencies of the System where an exhaustive analysis of the Project was carried out and recommendations for its improvement were provided. Also, the advocacy UN Women together with other UN agencies contributed to the regulation of article 179 of the labour contract law which obliges the employer sector to provide childcare facilities in companies with more than 100 employees. In terms of capacity development, policy makers and professionals from the public sector in the provinces of Chaco and Santa Fe strengthen their capacities to carry out costing care analysis in their territories and to advance on the design of proposals for the expansion of care services. UN Women contributed to the training of policy makers and professionals in the provinces of Chaco and Santa Fe through the joint UN Women-ILO programme "Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy". Additionally, 60 members of technical teams and public administration from the provinces of Neuqu�n, Buenos Aires and La Rioja strengthened their skills in costing comprehensive care systems, applying the same methodology within the framework of another project on community care financed by OSF. UN Women contributed to the online training and transfer program for costing methodology which covers general concepts of the care agenda and explains the methodology designed by UN Women and the ILO for estimating the costs and economic impacts of financing care services at the provincial level.