Women’s labor participation and wages are growing in Latin America, but gender gaps remain high
29 marzo 2019

LABOR

Gender equality. According to a recent report from the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), Latin America has succeeded in reducing educational disparities by gender, but efforts to guarantee equal conditions and opportunities in the workplace are still insufficient. Statistics indicate that women’s participation in the labor market grew but stagnated in recent years. The wage gap has also narrowed but remains significant, with considerable variation across countries. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, there are bills to address these issues in study since 2018 and the debate is expected to continue throughout 2019.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has reported that 131 million women participate in the regional labour market, or 51.7 per cent. This level represents a 3 per cent increase over the figure for 2000 (47.3%), but is still 25% below the male participation rate (76.9%). Statistics show gaps by age group and by country. For example, for women aged 25 to 54, the rate is as high as 80% in Uruguay and as low as 50% in Guatemala. Only 25% of young women between 18 and 24 work in the Dominican Republic, while in Peru it is 55%.

The majority of women in the region enter the labor market through the informal sector, and approximately 2 out of every 3 are not protected through labor standards or access to social benefits through employment. With regard to wages, the ILO’s “2018 Labor overview of Latin America and the Caribbean” indicates that between 2013 and 2017, women’s wages grew more than men’s. Yet by 2017 the average wage gap was 19%. Finally, women’s participation in top management roles does not even reach 10% according to data from the Inter-American Development Bank, 4.2% in CEO positions and 8.5% in boards of directors.

How then to confront the challenges of labor transition? Lifelong training for acquiring skills, reskilling and upskilling, the promotion of entrepreneurship, greater access to childcare services, the development of gender-oriented labor policies and the extension of maternity and paternity leave schemes are just some of the strategies that international organizations are promoting to confront global transformations related to technology, work automation, demographics and climate change. In addition, the ILO’s “Women at Work” initiative, one of seven launched by the ILO in its 100th anniversary year, has focused on four issues: discrimination that undermines access to decent work; low wages and the wage gap; lack of recognition, unequal distribution and undervaluation of care work; and violence and harassment.

Next steps

As part of the 100th anniversary of the International Labor Organization, various regional and sectoral events will be held this year to analyze the future of work and the entry of women in the labor market, as well as to outline policies to confront labor transition processes. In LAC, the Congresses of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico have begun considering bills on gender equity in the workplace, with the chance of these progressing in 2019.

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