An unfair economic gap for Latin American women

Writing America, (EFE).– AND salary difference between 15% and 30% and the burden of care that has historically been placed in the hands of husbands, daughters, and mothers are some of the major economic barriers facing women in Latin America.

Data provided by various organizations over the years show, the difference between work and monetary growth of women and men for reasons, mostly, related to stereotypes and burdens that were considered “feminine”.

He The average monthly salary of men is between 20% and 30% higher than that of women in Argentinapoints out Cippec’s coordinator for social protection, Florencia Caro Sachetti, who states that 15% of the female workforce works in domestic work, the lowest paid sector of the economy, and with 78% informally.

The the wage difference in this country is 15%equivalent to $54 more for men “doing the same job,” points out Carmen Urquilla, program coordinator for labor and economic justice at the Salvadoran Women’s Organization for Peace (Ormusa).

While, In Bolivia, we “don’t talk much” about economic violence. Available statistics are “limited” and are often associated with physical and psychological abuse, comments Tania Sánchez, director of the Women’s Coordinator, an entity that brings together twenty institutions that defend gender equality.

The wage gap in this country “has narrowed in recent years“. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), it is between 26% and 27%. By comparison, in Mexico, the gap is estimated at 14% in 2022, according to the Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO).

In Brazilthe most recent official data (2019), published by the Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), show that in that year, women had an average of 77.7% of men’s average earnings.

Among the factors affecting wage inequalityExperts talk about motherhood and the lack of public policies that facilitate connecting women to the labor market.

According to UNESCO, Mexican women do 73% of housework and unpaid care, and men only 27%. In addition, 92% of unpaid carers in this country are women, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

There is a heavy burden of stereotypes behind the data: in Argentina, women devote 7.5 hours a day to work and 6.5 hours to home carewhile men spend only 3.5 hours at home, which makes it even more difficult for women to climb the job ladder.

In addition, paternity leave lasts for two days and maternity 90 days