The National Women's Service (; SERNAM) is a public service in Chile, a functionally decentralized organization, with its own funding, which is part of the cabinet-level Ministry of Planning and Cooperation under the President of Chile, created January 3, 1991 by the Law N° 19,023, with the goal of promoting the equality of men and women.
SERNAM's founding mission was to collaborate with the executive in the study and proposal of general plans and measures in order that women may enjoy equality of rights and opportunities with men, in the process of political, social, economic, and cultural development of Chile.
Organization The upper-level direction, technical and administrative, of SERNAM is charged to the Director of Service, who has the rank of Minister of State, like an Interior Minister or Finance Minister. Its first Director was Soledad Alvear.
In each of the regions in which Chile is divided a Regional Directorship of the National Women's Service exists with its headquarters in the capital city of each respective region. There are 13 regional directorships.
Minister Directors Minister-Director Party Period President Soledad Alvear Valenzuela DC 3 January 1991 Patricio Aylwin Azócar Josefina Bilbao Ind 11 March 1994 Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Adriana Delpiano Puelma PPD 11 March 2000 Ricardo Lagos Escobar Cecilia Pérez Díaz Ind 11 March 2003 Ricardo Lagos Escobar Laura Albornoz Pollman DC 11 March 2006 Michelle Bachelet Jeria Carmen Andrade Lara PS 20 October 2009 Michelle Bachelet Jeria Carolina Schmidt Zaldívar Ind 11 March 2010 Sebastián Piñera Echenique Loreto Seguel King Ind 22 April 2013 Sebastián Piñera Echenique Claudia Pascual PC 11 March 2014 Michelle Bachelet Jeria
DC: Christian Democrat Party of Chile PPD: Party for Democracy PS: Socialist Party of Chile PC: Communist Party of Chile Ind: Independent
References
Further reading
External links National Women's Service