Uruguay narrows the gender gap, but there are sectors with greater slopes

Uruguay narrows the gender gap, but there are sectors with greater slopes

Uruguay occupies position 67 in the ranking prepared from the Global Gender Gap Index 2023 of the World Economic Forum, and although its position improved compared to the previous year, it still has aspects to improve in terms of reducing differences between men and women to get closer to the world average. What is happening in the business sector and foreign trade, two areas of importance in the country?

Little by little and without big leaps, the gender gap in the country seems to be narrowing: in 2022, in the World Gender Gap Index – an indicator that analyzes the division of resources and opportunities between men and women -, Uruguay had a result of 71.1%, placing 72nd; while in the last available update in 2023 it improved its position for the third consecutive year, rising five places in the ranking and achieving a score of 71.4%.

This index, developed by the World Economic Forum, establishes the size of the gender inequality gap by measuring points such as participation in the economy, the world of skilled work and politics, and access to education and the life expectancy of each country. The higher the figure shown by the indicator, the smaller the gender gap.

In that sense, in the last decade Uruguay has had ups and downs in the ranking that, last year, was led by Iceland (91.2%), Norway (87.9%) and Finland (86.3%). His best result was in 2020, when he ranked 37th with an index of 73.7%; while its worst record was in 2015, in 93rd place and with an indicator of 67.9%.

What is the current business scenario?

According to a report from the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay (CCSuy)in Uruguay Women earn 25% less than men in the same field, while leadership roles in sectors characterized by hard skills remain difficult to access. When a woman reaches management, it is usually in areas of soft skills such as marketing and human resources.

This accounts for a situation called “glass roof”, that is, a veiled limitation on the career advancement of women within an organization. A phenomenon that can also be observed in companies led by women: 54% are in the services sector, 38% in commerce, and only 8% in industry, according to CCSUy data.

“There is still a long way to go, women entrepreneurs have greater difficulties in accessing formal financing mechanisms, not only due to greater risk aversion or lack of financial education, but also due to the lack of adequate instruments or lack of guarantee,” he explained to Ambit the vice president of the chamber, Anabela Aldaz.

Exports, a sector in which women are lacking

The sector of exports and foreign trade It is another example of the glass ceiling. In an area of ​​such importance for a producing country such as Uruguay, the presence of women is significantly low: according to a study by the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (Intal) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) As of December 2022, on average only 3 out of every 10 people who work in export companies are women.

In the specific case of Uruguay, This figure rises to 39%, above the estimated regional average of 33%. But only 12% of organizations that trade internationally are led by a woman in the country.

The category of the productive sector to which they belong also affects this gender gap and its reproduction: sectors such as livestock, grain and fishing, as well as heavy industry and metalworking, present the clearest asymmetries towards the employment of men; while the textile, clothing, footwear and leather goods industries are not only less capitalized sectors, but also feminized, according to IDB data.

In Uruguay, where the “field” is the main source of the country’s exports, the gender gap reproduces in this predominantly male sector.

Source: Ambito

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