How often do women enter meetings with clear ideas and relevant contributions, only to hesitate when the moment comes to voice them? This experience is not merely individual; it reflects a broader pattern affecting women across sectors, including those with extensive experience and technical expertise. Female leadership is not an innate trait, but rather the result of sustained practice, deliberate skill development, and the ability to navigate — and overcome — deeply rooted sociocultural barriers.

Research conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) consistently shows that women in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to face significant inequalities in accessing leadership and decision-making positions. These disparities stem from a combination of structural, cultural, and individual-level barriers that reinforce one another and limit women’s professional advancement.

In response to this context, the Women’s Leadership Program (Programa de Liderazgo Femenino, PLF) was developed under the Gender Parity Initiative (IPG) in Honduras, with technical support from the IDB and financial backing from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). The program was designed to strengthen the leadership capacities of women in middle-management positions across both the public and private sectors.

Read more at: https://www.iadb.org/en/blog/gender-and-diversity/redefining-female-leadership