ECLAC reveals inequalities in report on women

Buenos Aires, February 12 (RHC)-- The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) issued the report 'Women's Economic Autonomy in the Recovery, Sustainable and with Equality' -- presented by Alicia Bárcena, secretary general of the regional body.

The document revealed that in 2020 the rate of female participation in the labor market in the region fell by 6.0 percent from 62.5 percent to 57.2 percent.  The report showed that "the crisis generated by the COID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the employment and working conditions of women in Latin America and the Caribbean, causing a setback of more than a decade in the progress achieved in terms of labor participation".

The study indicated that "56.9 percent of women in Latin America and 54.3 percent in the Caribbean are employed in sectors that are expected to have a greater negative impact in terms of employment and income."  The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) stated that paid domestic work "is another of the sectors hard hit by the crisis, since, in addition to being highly precarious, it is a type of work that cannot be performed remotely.  Many women employed in this sector experience uncertainty about their remuneration, especially in the case of those who do not have a formal contract."

Among the challenges, the Commission notes that in addition to "mainstreaming the gender perspective in all recovery policies, affirmative actions are required in the areas of fiscal, labor, productive, economic and social policies, which protect women's rights achieved in the last decade, prevent setbacks and address gender inequalities in the short, medium and long term."