Women should work out of necessity and in their own rights

Laís Abramo, ILO gender expert in Latin America: "Women should work out of necessity and in their own rights". Bernardita Aguirre Pascal

6 August 2004

"El Mercurio" Newspaper, Economy and business, Santiago de Chile

The sociologist points out that women's economic independence is fundamental for their autonomy and essential to overcome poverty, whereas a third part of Latin America homes has female-headed households.

BERNARDITA AGUIRRE PASCAL

Laís Abramo has been working during 5 years as ILO's regional gender expert and her head is full of data: 45% of women in Latin America participate in labour market, 16% of Latin American women work in domestic service, and one third of region homes are headed by women.

These are a few of the figures that this Brazilian woman has at her fingertips. But she does not stand motionless; she immediately proposes ideas to help incorporating the gender dimension into policies to fight poverty and to create employment, since she understands that one of the structural backbones of social inequality in Latin America is associated with gender.

-How does gender lead to poverty?

"Women are more vulnerable to fall into poverty and have more difficulties to overcome it. This happens because, due to the gender division of labour existing in society, women have to devote an important part of their time and their physical and intellectual efforts to their home duties, a kind of work that is not recognised as such and is not remunerated. This fact restricts their possibilities for training and insertion in the labour market. Furthermore, there are gender discrimination mechanisms at work".

-Which are those discrimination mechanisms?

"The idea that there are typical occupations for men and women. Sixteen percent of the women in Latin America work in domestic service, one of the worst paid jobs and with less social protection. If this is added to women street vendors and skilled occupations that are seen as an extension of care duties, such as nurses and infant schools, you would realise women are less economically and socially valued".

-Why do you believe it is important that women should work?

"Out of need and for their own rights. Woman's economic autonomy is essential for her personal autonomy. If she does not generate her own income, what independent conditions may she have in a society where everything is bought?"

-Is she respected if she has her own income?

"The former SERNAM (National Women Service) Minister, Adriana del Piano, affirmed that a working woman is less beaten; figures show that domestic violence indicators are much higher among non-working women".

-Is there evidence that women's work is a factor that helps to overcome poverty?

"Yes, because there is a second income when a woman starts working. The ECLAC estimates that poverty in Latin America would be 10% higher if women would not work, and it will surely drop if more women would get work. It should be considered that actually 30% of Latin American homes are female headed households".

-How does labour market entry of Latin American women workers compare with the rest of the world?

"It is quite low. The European Union's goal is 70% participation, while in Latin America it is barely 45%".

-Which countries are right and wrong in relation to female participation?

"In terms of economic activity rates, the worst countries are Mexico and Chile. In some countries -Uruguay and Brazil- there is a 50% rate. This is an important indicator of women's labour improvement, but it is not the only one. This rate indicates what percentage of women are working or seeking a job, including unemployed women too".

-Observing it altogether, how is Chile in comparison with the other countries of Latin America?

"Chile has better labour market indicators; for example, there is less informal activity than in other countries. In recent times, sufficient progress was achieved, including in legislation, but the fact that the participation rate is so low is indicative that very important barriers exist to secure a better integration of women to work".

-Is there an outstanding Latin American country in terms of its policies to integrate women?

" Argentina and Brazil have quota policies in their political parties' slates, which imply presenting a certain number of women at elections. There are also quotas at trade union centres; at present, in Brazil all of them have female participation, which has advanced the inclusion of gender issues in collective bargaining; thus, parental authority has been achieved, and nursery rights have been extended to men".

-Will positive discrimination measures be necessary to integrate women to work?

"Affirmative action measures, I would rather say. But it depends on the situation; a number of measures may be established by the government, starting from the childcare issue, which is also the employers' responsibility".

"Other actions that may be developed are awareness campaigns, women vocational training policies in fields which are not traditionally feminine, as well as supporting micro-enterprises and credit access with a gender perspective".

-Yet that is targeted to low-income women, what about higher-income women?

"In Chile, women's participation rate in the economy averages 36%; disaggregated data show that in the lowest-income homes the rate is 25% and, in the highest-income groups, the rate is 52%, which is still low. More affluent women have a better educational level and possibilities to solve the childcare issue".

-Why then are there still few women who work?

"The income gap between persons of different sexes is highest among those who are better educated. Furthermore, the so-called "glass ceiling" is widespread in Latin America and women do not arrive at high positions".

"A survey conducted at the 500 largest enterprises in Brazil showed that only 5% of women are high executives. Often this does not reflect professional qualifications; it deals with the beliefs that women are not good to give orders, that a woman is at the company but her head is at her home, that they do not want to stay working up to ten o'clock at night and, therefore, that they are less devoted to the firm. We have to knock down those myths".