National poverty figures in Colombia are good and show improvements year after year, however, they live with persistent inequalities; as warned in a recent report published by ANIF, where it is related that between approximately 2023 and 2024 1.27 million people left monetary poverty and 420,000 exceeded extreme poverty.
While it is an important advance, the analysis reveals a bittersweet panoramaULCand On behalf of the social gaps by gender and territory they remain deep and worrying.
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Starting from the data published a few days ago by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), which sets the monetary poverty line at $ 460,198 per month, and that of extreme poverty at $ 227,220; From Anif they stated that the balance sheet is positive, but it makes it clear that more attention must be paid to several lines of the specific society.
Before focusing on its observations, the report explains that in the references of extreme monetary and monetary poverty, the first corresponds to the minimum income threshold to cover basic needs such as food and housing; while The second represents the minimum required to ensure basic daily caloric consumption.
Extreme monetary and monetary poverty fell in 2024.
Women Chiefs of Household: At a disadvantage
Thus, one of the central findings of this report is the difference marked between homes led by women and men, both in urban and rural areas, since in municipal headwaters, households with female headquarters presented 40% more monetary poverty and 80% more extreme poverty compared to those headed by men.
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This difference already significant is amplified by observing the poverty data in the CampOr, since in rural areas, the gap is also evident: households led by women record 20% more monetary poverty and 40% more extreme poverty than men led by men.
“The situation becomes even more critical when compared between women, since a woman’s head in a rural area is 40% poorer than her urban equivalent and has 120% more likely to fall into extreme poverty,” says the study.
Extreme monetary and monetary poverty fell in 2024.
Rural poverty and structural inequality
For ANIF, these disparities are not random or short -term, but respond to structural causes of the Colombian labor market, since the report mentions that women face greater barriers to access to formal work, both for social prejudices and for the workload of work domestic and unpaid care, which continues to fall mainly on them.
“To this is added the high female suboccupation rate, which limits income even when there is labor participation, and the concentration of agricultural work in the hands of men, which excludes many rural women from stable sources of income,” they added.
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Analysts were emphatic in that this set of conditions is translated In lesser economic autonomy for women, which not only keeps them in a situation of vulnerability, but also directly impacts the homes they lead; While in rural regions, where formal employment options are more scarce, these barriers are exacerbated.
The report recognizes that the decrease in poverty is good news, but insists that it cannot be celebrated without nuances, noting that “the decrease in both indicators brings good news, but the results reflect some nuances, particularly in vulnerable populations, where rural women are part of this group.”
Extreme monetary and monetary poverty fell in 2024.
In other words, the country advances, but not everyone advances at the same rate and that is why the entity recommends providing special Attention to these groups if you want the reduction of poverty to be sustained and equitable.
“Public policies that strengthen women’s access to formal employment, which redistribute the burden of care and open opportunities in rural areas are key to closing those gaps,” they concluded.
Daniel Hernández Naranjo
Portfolio journalist
