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Challenges, Barriers, and Strategies for Leadership Among Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Local Community Women

An analysis based on the life experiences of three women leaders in Latin America.

Author: Rights and Resources Initiative

Date: February 13, 2025

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After decades of struggle, some women from IP, ADP, and LC organizations in Latin America have achieved conditions of equality and equity, successfully overcoming instances of violence and/or gender discrimination within their organizations. However, for many others, barriers still exist.

Given women’s relevant role in advancing the land rights of IPs, ADPs, and LCs, it is crucial to recognize the strategies devised by women involved in the RRI coalition to promote equal rights and environments free from gender-based violence and discrimination, which is ultimately what enables them to assume their leadership roles. This recognition enables us to gather lessons learned and share these with partner organizations within the RRI network.

As part of RRI’s regional strategy in 2023, the coalition agreed to conduct an analysis of the enabling contexts and challenges related to fostering Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women’s leadership skills based on the life experiences of three women in Latin America who have achieved leadership roles in their families, organizations, communities, and at the national and international levels.

Analyzing the three women leaders’ life and leadership trajectories made it possible to identify the enabling conditions and barriers that the women overcame in an effort to make their voices, thoughts, and leadership abilities known in the different types of organizations, and how their leadership has opened doors for other women in their town or community.

The consultants who participated in this study are María Elvira Molano, María Victoria García Vettorazzi, and Eliza Plufcker Herrera.

  • Key Findings

Key Findings

Lessons learned and commonalities of the three women leaders derived from the strategies developed to exercise their leadership and pave the way for other women in their communities:

  • Enable women to empower themselves as leaders and fight for their rights and those of their communities, prepare themselves for opportunities, and recognize their skills and abilities to take on leadership positions.
  • Promote more and new leadership, both in terms of replacement, but also in terms of inter-learning involving young people in community work to prepare them for leadership positions.
  • Identify and sustain support networks, including support for women’s initiatives and community processes to form associations, and promote the support of international and national NGOs.
  • Participate in technical training to overcome the gaps in education and specialize in technical knowledge. Promote access to basic, secondary, and higher education.
  • Increase awareness of self-care and self-defense to deal with the violence and demands they are subjected to.
  • Promote a safe family environment that promotes self-esteem and knowledge of individual and collective women’s rights.
  • Gain collective or community support so that more women leaders can emerge and be the voice of many.
  • Promote the strength that comes from being part of an organization. Women are empowered through participation in broader organizational networks and through their participation in advocacy spaces.
  • Support women’s initiatives and community processes to form associations.
  • Forge the ability to be able to speak and be heard. As one person shared.
  • Develop collective actions that address the basic needs of women and the community with participatory methodologies using assertive language and action without harm.