Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

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II. WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY AND SOCIAL PROTECTION,
WITH REFERENCE TO UNPAID WORK
The purpose of this section is to analyse women’s contribution to the economy and to social protection, with
particular reference to unpaid work. The replacement of the idea of “social security” with that of “social
protection” in development parlance has meant a quite significant conceptual shift, since “social security”
referred to a wide range of social provision in which the State played a leading role, not just as service
provider but as regulator and financing agent too. The idea of social protection, on the other hand, implies a
far more restricted model in which the State has a smaller presence and the market, individuals and families
play a greater role, taking over many of the functions and responsibilities involved (Pautassi, 2005). The
analysis in the present document concentrates on the relationship between paid work, which has been
extensively studied throughout history, and unpaid work, which has received much less attention and is
usually overlooked in economic analysis and public policies.
As indicated in the introduction to this document, the sexual division of labour is at the heart of
gender inequality, which is underpinned by a patriarchal family structure where the man is the highest
authority and sole provider and there is a rigid division of tasks and responsibilities, regulated by social
norms that have become ingrained over time. This document attempts to show the interactions between
the public and private spheres that help to perpetuate inequality.
For over two decades, economists and academics have highlighted the significance of the rapid
influx of large numbers of women into the labour market (United Nations, 2005b; Rico and Marco, 2006).
Although governments recognized at the Fourth World Conference on Women that women were key
contributors to the economy and to anti-poverty efforts “through both remunerated and unremunerated
work at home, in the community and in the workplace”, progress had been slower than hoped because the
care of children, other family members, the infirm and the elderly was a responsibility that fell
disproportionately on women, owing to lack of equality and the unbalanced distribution of paid and
unpaid work between women and men (United Nations, 1995a, chapter 2).
One of the most widely recognized contributions of women’s work has been its positive impact in
reducing poverty. Despite this contribution, however, even the most educated women earn less than men,
women generally receive a lower return on their education, female unemployment is higher and the
horizontal and vertical segmentation of the labour market has not changed significantly (ECLAC, 2007a;
Rico and Marco, 2006).
ECLAC research has shown over and over again that workplace discrimination against women is
reflected in pay irrespective of educational level (see statistical annex). In 2005, women’s earnings from
work of all kinds averaged 70% of men’s in Latin America, while their wage incomes were 87% of
men’s. From the trend of progress in closing this gap since 1990, it can be projected that equal pay for
men and women ought ideally to be achieved by 2015, while women’s overall incomes should stand at
75% of men’s that year (see figure II.1).
Labour market inequality is reflected in the pension system, and this is true whether countries
have carried out reforms or not, with women being placed at a disadvantage because they remain outside
the system or because they receive lower pensions and have to make them last longer (ECLAC, 2006b;
Marco, 2004a and 2004b). In short, the evidence of employment discrimination is so overwhelming that
the entry of women into the paid job market is recognized as one of the most significant new
developments for the economy, society and the family (Arriagada, 2007) while it is also accepted that,