Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

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55 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,
56 despite some positive and encouraging trends, progress (albeit irreversible) has been very slow. There is less agreement about the causes of continuing discrimination, the importance of women’s work and the reasons for promoting it. If women’s paid work contributes to development and the family economy, then why is it not being encouraged If women have not achieved equality in the labour market and in the family, is it because of their own shortcomings, or because their education or natural endowments lead them to give priority to care over paid work Figure II.1 LATIN AMERICA: WOMEN’S AVERAGE EARNINGS COMPARED TO MEN’S, URBAN AREAS, OBSERVED VALUES AND PROJECTIONS, 1990-2015 (Percentages) 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 70 71 61 64 78 85 87 68 68 70 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Observed labour income Observed wage income Estimated labour income Estimated wage income Target Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), “Gender statistics” [online] http://www.eclac.cl/mujer/proyectos/perfiles_en/comparados/trabajo12.htm, on the basis of special tabulations of data from the household surveys of the countries concerned. This study shows that the sexual division of labour has been and remains a functional part of economic systems (Benería, 1995; Elson, 1992; Henderson, 1994), since it ensures a labour supply subsidized by the work of women, who produce cost-free goods and services that would otherwise have to be provided by the market or the State. Women’s ability to participate in the labour market is affected by what the feminist economist Ingrid Palmer (1992) has called “the reproduction tax” arising from the unpaid work they perform in the home because of an unwritten pact that endorses men as the universal economic providers for their families and women as carers. This is reflected in philosophical debates that credit women with a special moral predisposition for caregiving. The crux of the matter is that women are associated with the care ethic and with a “natural” predisposition to give primacy to interpersonal and affective networks. From this dichotomous standpoint, men are seen as being more individualistic and
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LC/L.2738(CRM.10/3) August 2007 The
Page 4 and 5:
1 FOREWORD The Economic Commission
Page 6 and 7: 3 INTRODUCTION The women of Latin A
Page 8: 5 essentially not on biological fac
Page 11 and 12: 8 Convention, but the process has b
Page 13 and 14: 10 among development, security and
Page 15 and 16: 12 Another sphere of democratic deb
Page 17 and 18: 14 to articulate their efforts in i
Page 19 and 20: 16 boundaries between human, reprod
Page 21 and 22: 18 relatively less powerful, new gl
Page 23 and 24: 20 universalist school’s argument
Page 25 and 26: 22 democratic movements, gradually
Page 27 and 28: 24 Table I.2 LATIN AMERICA (20 COUN
Page 29 and 30: 26 In many countries, a new collect
Page 31 and 32: 28 In Costa Rica the quota issue be
Page 33 and 34: 30 Table I.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 35 and 36: 32 The differences between the resu
Page 37 and 38: 34 Figure I.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 39 and 40: 36 Figure I.6 CARIBBEAN (11 COUNTRI
Page 41 and 42: 38 Figure I.9 CARIBBEAN (9 COUNTRIE
Page 43 and 44: 40 Women’s entry to parliament ca
Page 45 and 46: 42 Figure I.10 LATIN AMERICA AND TH
Page 47 and 48: 44 Figure I.12 THE CARIBBEAN (10 CO
Page 49 and 50: 46 Figure I.14 LATIN AMERICA (15 CO
Page 51 and 52: 48 Table I.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 53 and 54: 50 was from 9% to 1.3%, Jamaica (fr
Page 55 and 56: 52 agencies at the highest level an
Page 60 and 61: 57 more concerned with the ethic of
Page 62 and 63: 59 Box II.1 THE WORK OF CARE IN SOC
Page 64 and 65: 61 of care on women mounts up. This
Page 66 and 67: 63 conditions of employment of work
Page 68 and 69: 65 social security and social benef
Page 70 and 71: 67 disincentive to their recruitmen
Page 72 and 73: 69 seeks to reform the constitution
Page 74 and 75: 71 Box II.4 REGULATION OF EMPLOYMEN
Page 76 and 77: 73 those in rural areas (42.1%), wh
Page 78 and 79: 75 sex and activity (see figure II.
Page 80 and 81: 77 Figure II.4 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 82 and 83: 79 Figure II.7 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 84 and 85: 81 Box II.6 HAITI. DOMESTIC WORKERS
Page 86 and 87: 83 It is interesting to characteriz
Page 88 and 89: 85 care to the “productive” adu
Page 90 and 91: 87 Box II. 7 (concluded) To sum up,
Page 92 and 93: 89 are also inaccurate, which widen
Page 94 and 95: 91 Some progress has been made sinc
Page 96 and 97: 93 Figure II.15 AVERAGE HOURS SPENT
Page 98 and 99: 95 Country Costa Rica El Salvador G
Page 100 and 101: 97 domestic life is shared between
Page 102 and 103: 99 employee for family reasons. The
Page 104 and 105: 101 In the private sphere, there ha
Page 106 and 107: 103 Table II.4 SEVEN SELECTED CITIE
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105 Box II.12 EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL SE
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107 III. TOWARDS A RESEARCH AND POL
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109 (iii) Contribute to the mainten
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111 Appendix TECHNICAL NOTES The st
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113 Household survey information al
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115 sub-module “home maintenance
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118 _____ (2003), "Políticas para
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120 Carrasco, Cristina (2001), “H
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122 _____ (2003b), “Redes de apoy
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124 Huenchuan, Sandra and José Mig
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126 Montaño, Sonia (2007a), “Emp
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128 Rico, María Nieves (2006), “
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130 _____ (1979), Convention on the
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