The most recent report from the National Department of Statistics (Dane) indicated that although the female unemployment rate decreased, the gap between the unemployment rate of men and women increased, positioning itself at 8.2 percentage points. While for 2021 the gap was 6.2 pp.
(Read: January 2022, with 1.5 million more jobs than in 2021).
The report indicates that unemployment decreased in January 2022 after standing at 14.6%. For January 2021 it was 17.5%, which represents a drop of 2.9 percentage points.
However, For every 10 men who left unemployment, only one woman did., according to the UNDP. This indicates that it is more complex for them to get out of this situation and the gaps are increasing. In this way, male unemployment was 11.2% and female 19.4%.
WHY?
Although new jobs are being created every time, the female recruitment is not progressing at the same paceaccording to María Claudia Lacouture, director of AmCham Colombia.
One of the reasons is that in the labor market there is a marginalization for women to access jobs and, even more, well-paid ones. “It is essential to work with more determination to balance the disadvantages for women who, in addition to being more marginalized in terms of access to jobs and subsisting in informality, tend to have lower pay, lower promotion ceilings, greater vulnerability of their rights and more obligations at home”, assures Lacouture.
(What’s more: Women remain relegated in terms of financial inclusion).
For Iván Daniel Jaramillo, lawyer and researcher at the Labor Observatory of the Universidad del Rosario, women in Colombia are exposed to a situation permanent discriminationlimitation of rights and total social inequity.
According to the expert, in the world of work there are a series of barriers that imply a “Discriminatory treatment in terms of salary, job advancement opportunities and getting a decent job both in the formal and informal world”. Situation that is really worrying especially for the women living in rural areas.
It is based on the prejudice that their work practice will not be of the same quality as that of a man, when it is proven that women exercise in the labor, political and academic world in a rigorous and brilliant manner.
This is demonstrated by the World Bank, which reported that women in the world have three quarters of the legal rights granted to men. On the other hand, by 2021, Colombia ranked second as the country with the highest unemployment rate in Latin Americawith women being the most affected by job loss (39%), according to Dane records.
However, Jaramillo also states that this gap responds to a series of factors that have been attributed to the supposed ‘role of women’ in society. “The life of women in our society is difficult at all levels. For example, in their access to conditions and rights that are much simpler for men. Not for everyone, because unemployment is a general problem, but indeed there are some limitations”, he assures.
(Read: Women in Colombia earn up to 36% less than men).
In this sense, the expert affirms that there are jobs that are banned for women. Even, trades considered exclusive to menbecause it is usually attributed to an intellectual or physical capacity that women supposedly do not have.
“It is based on the prejudice that their work practice will not be of the same quality as that of a man, when it is proven that women exercise in the labor, political and academic world in a rigorous and brilliant manner, even surpassing men in many lands”, it states.
For example, a recent study by Aequales, together with APOYO Consultoría (Peru) and CESA’s Center for Corporate Governance Studies (Colombia), showed that company profitability increases with more women in management positions.
According to the report, in Colombia with 356 participating organizations, 25% of women hold CEO positions, 30% of them are part of Boards of Directors and 60% of companies have a Gender Policy.
“This set of prejudices conditions not only having access to employment, but also receiving remuneration proportional to the responsibilities assigned to them.”, points out Jaramillo. According to a study by the Colombian Federation of Human Resources (Acrip), women in Colombia earn up to 36% less than men.
Female unemployment is really worrying especially for women who live in rural areas.
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“It is a pity that professional and salary gaps between men and women continue to exist in the country, even though the responsibilities are the same, and the working conditions are sometimes even more difficult for women.”, stated Mónica García Espinel, executive director of Acrip.
TO DO?
“What these types of records do is reaffirm the urgent need to legislate and work for those gaps so deepyes,” says Jaramillo. For the expert, it is necessary for the country to work on measures and actions that face these circumstances.
(Keep reading: Profitability rises with more women in management positions).
The lawyer assures that in Colombia the situation of female unemployment is taken for granted and, therefore, when reports like the one from Dane come out, people are not “shocked”.
For his part, Lacouture affirms that it is necessary maintain stimulus programs for female employment and advance in training programs for relevant talent that allow the population to be trained in the needs of companies.
“We must not lower our guard, less with the inflationary context with which the year began and the expectation of the economic tailwind due to the war between Russia and Ukraine that will deal another blow to the economy that has not fully recovered from the health impact” , points out.
MARIANA GUERRERO ALVAREZ
Twitter: @marguealv
