This article is written by Florencia Romano, Undersecretary of Open Government and Accountability in the government of the City of Buenos Aires. This article is one of the finalists in Apolitical’s 2020 women in government writing competition.

One of the main problems in the public sector is the absence of women in hierarchical positions. Thanks to the project management methodology, at the Argentinian National Chamber of Deputies we were able to break down the formal power structures to give visibility to women's leadership and the extraordinary results they can achieve by leading diverse teams.

Through this methodology, women who do not have formal positions within an organisation can be project managers, and thus demonstrate their leadership and potential based on empirical results.

5,052 people work in the Argentinian National Chamber of Deputies, 2,093 are women, and of 45 hierarchical positions, only 11 are held by the female gender. I was the first woman to lead the Administrative Secretariat, which is an essential area for the Legislative Power and its continuous operation. After an exhaustive diagnosis carried out at the beginning of the management, we decided with my team to create a 4-year strategic plan, the first in the history of the Chamber of Deputies.

At the same time, we created the Planning and Control Unit, whose main objective is to promote a culture of public efficiency. The office works with planning and monitoring tools that facilitate the correct definition of priorities, the efficient use of resources, and the corresponding accountability that provides transparency to management. During the 4 years of my professional practice in that establishment, it was led by a woman, who managed to consolidate and strengthen our 2016-2020 strategic plan.

In my years as Administrative Secretary of the Argentinian National Chamber of Deputies, between 2015 and 2019, we carried out 150 professionally managed projects aligned with the PMBOK Guide of the Project Management Institute, establishing us as the only parliament in the world that implemented this way of working and acknowledged by the CEO of PMI who visited us on July 2019.

5,052 people work in the Argentinian National Chamber of Deputies, 2,093 are women, and of 45 hierarchical positions, only 11 are held by the female gender

The methodology allowed us to standardise processes, optimise resources, and increase integration and effectiveness. This generated a global saving, throughout the entire management, of $9,322,709 — the highest reserve fund in the history of the Chamber.

Based on these guidelines, in 4 years of management we achieved an important goal: out of 150 projects, approximately 50% were led by women. This methodology allowed the female gender to demonstrate their capabilities, lead teams and comply with processes reaching objectives.

At the same time, projects designed for specific needs were successfully implemented, which were able to respond to the urgency and promote gender equality in a comprehensive way. Such is the case of the Family Room, a project that was led by a woman.

Within the framework of World Breastfeeding Week and in compliance with Law No. 26,873 on Breastfeeding, Promotion and Public Awareness, the Chamber of Deputies built a family room. It is a quiet and welcoming space where breastfeeding women can express and store milk during the working day.

All management must be evaluated to be considered successful. This, in addition, allows us to acquire lessons learned either from the achievements made, as well as from mistakes or shortcomings

In addition, it has facilities so that all workers, whether they are fathers or mothers, can feed their sons and daughters at any time of the day. This space earned the Chamber the recognition as "Friendly Space for Lactation", given by the National Ministry of Health.

“I believe that the Family Room is a space that we are leaving with great pride to the Chamber, because it implies making the commitment to gender equality in the workplace and caring for the family a reality. This room will benefit the fathers and mothers who work in this Chamber, because it will reduce their stress and that of their child, also promoting the important bond that occurs when the baby is breastfed," commented to former deputy Patricia Gimenez, who held her position from 2013 to 2017.

All management must be evaluated to be considered successful. This, in addition, allows us to acquire lessons learned either from the achievements made, as well as from mistakes or shortcomings. That is why, before the change of government, we decided that Cippec (Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth), one of the most important think tanks in Latin America, would carry out an exhaustive analysis of our administrative management with a focus on the importance of working on projects.

According to the evaluating organisation, the use of the project management model produced substantial transformations:

  • Bureaucratic processes were standardised and streamlined.
  • A high level of project fulfilment
  • Great advance in the professionalisation of the organisation's staff
  • The coordinated and team work of the areas was institutionalised
  • Resources were used for the execution of projects more efficiently.

Although I believe that each problem requires a specific methodology, I have verified the efficiency of project management, and its usefulness to involve women in leadership roles.

I was able to demonstrate my leadership because I had a boss who allowed me to demonstrate my capabilities. Therefore, and from my experience in public service, that the best way to empower the female gender is by giving women the opportunity to demonstrate their innate potential, and thus achieve results. — Florencia Romano

(Picture credit: Unsplash)