Underemployment due to income in women increased by almost 31% during April in Metropolitan Lima

The economic revival it is strongly reflected in the high rates of employability; however, many women are still underemployed both by hours and by income, as pointed out by the Forge Foundation.

In Metropolitan Lima alone, the female population underemployed by income increased by 30.5% during the moving quarter from February to April compared to the same period in 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).

Meanwhile, that of men decreased by 6% in said moving quarter.

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Why the increase in female underemployment?

“This happens because schools have not yet finished receiving boys and girls every day of the week, which makes it difficult for women, who continue to bear the greatest burden of care and domestic work, to enter formal and quality employment.”, said María José Gómez, director of the Forge Foundation for Peru and Colombia.

A similar trend occurs with the underemployed population due to insufficient hours, since the male population fell more than the female population with a percentage variation of almost 30%, which is equivalent to more than 80,000 people in Metropolitan Lima.

“Since before the pandemic, employability rates for women were lower than for men. The COVID-19 situation has only increased the gender labor gap, which in Peru continues to be the great pending task that we have as a society and a countryGomez commented.

Public policies to promote female employability

The specialist in issues of the labor gap commented that there are several countries with public policies to promote the employability of women, as well as of the elderly and vulnerable populations.

“Public policies must be developed in favor of the development of women in the workplace, but work must also be done from home, in schools, universities, and especially by universalizing the care of the hand of policies that promote quality spaces for the caring for minors, sick people and older adults“, He suggested.

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