The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the latest edition of their joint publication on employment in the region, with findings pointing to the importance of addressing gender gaps in the labor market to achieve the SDGs. The authors stress the critical role of women’s access to paid employment in helping the region to reduce poverty, tackle inequality and ensure economic growth.

The report titled, ‘Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evolution of and prospects for women’s labour participation in Latin America,’ identifies a “large increase” in women’s participation in paid activities as one of the most important trends in the region’s labor market (although the report cautions that greater participation in the labor market does not necessarily result in greater quality of life or greater quality of employment). The average participation rate for women 15 years and older increased by 11 percentage points in Latin America over the past 30 years, the largest increase globally. Countries with the highest female labor participation rate are Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Paraguay. Countries with the lowest rates are Guatemala (39.2%), Mexico (43.5%) and Costa Rica (45.1%). Despite these overall gains, female labor participation in the region remains “significantly behind developed countries.” The gap between women’s labor participation rate and men’s labor participation was 25.9 percentage points in 2018, on average.

Better quality jobs are “losing ground” against sectors with more informal labor conditions.

Large differences also exist among countries in terms of the levels of female labor participation and the pace of growth. Women’s participation in the labor market in rural areas increased in some countries – including Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic – but decreased in Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala and Peru.

The publication recognizes Latin America’s progress on a number of factors that positively affect women’s decision to participate in the labor market, including social norms and political rights. Additional factors include equal access to education, improved reproductive services and a decline in the fertility rate, and greater average levels of income. Increased access to technologies also has reduced the amount of time women spend on domestic tasks, and increased flexibility in the place, form and modality of work. However, the report finds that the region still lags behind in some areas that could hinder growth in female labor participation, including cultural attitudes that promote reproductive and caring roles for women, and gender gaps in expected economic returns on education. 

The report also examines the region’s labor market performance during the first half of 2019. Low economic growth affected job creation, and the average regional urban unemployment rate in the region remained steady at 10.1%. The authors conclude that the job categories and sectors that typically create better quality jobs are “losing ground” against sectors with more informal labor conditions.

The report is prepared twice yearly by ECLAC’s Economic Development Division and the ILO’s Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America. [ECLAC Press Release] [ILO Press Release] [Publication Webpage] [Publication: Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean]