Latin American women face major gender barriers: ILO

Women's participation in the work force across Latin America and the Caribbean has risen greatly in recent years but much is still left to do to eliminate gender disparity, an official of the International Labor Organization (ILO) said here on Tuesday.

"In most countries, women have a higher level of education than men. However, they face higher levels of unemployment, underemployment and informal labor, as well as salary gaps," said Jose Salazar, ILO director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

"The celebration of International Women's Day must serve to redouble efforts for gender equality at work," he said.

In a press release, the ILO said two factors need to be addressed urgently to reduce inequality. The first is the disproportionate amount of housework taken by women and the second is about gender stereotypes which push women toward traditional roles in the work force, often far from the most lucrative economic sectors.

In its new Women at Work Trends 2016 report, released Tuesday to coincide with International Women's Day, the ILO said Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions which has seen the most progress in the percentage of women having a job or actively seeking one, up from 44.5 percent in 1995 to 52.6 percent in 2015.

"While this rise has contributed to more equality in the workplace, there remains a difference of at least 25 percent with men, 78 percent of whom participate in the work force," said Salazar.

"For over 10 years in Latin America, we have faced female unemployment that is 1.4 times higher than for men. Despite advances and commitment to gender equality, we have not succeeded in closing this breach," he added.

Another important focus of the report was about informal labor. In the case of Latin America and Caribbean, 54 percent of women in the work force are involved in some informal activity, as opposed to 48 percent of men. Endi