Gender Equality in Colombia

Towards a Better Sharing of Paid and Unpaid Work

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Gender Equality at Work

28 September 2023

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1. Gender gaps in Colombia: An international and sub-national comparison

Abstract

This chapter reviews the evidence on gender gaps in economic and educational outcomes in Colombia. It starts with an overview of gender gaps in educational and labour market outcomes across different dimensions (enrolment and out-of-school rates, skills outcomes, along with labour market participation, gender pay gaps and the interactions between motherhood and access to quality jobs). It then discusses the factors contributing to these gaps (the unbalanced distribution of unpaid care and domestic work, gender-based stereotypes, the role of legal barriers, the access to care facilities, infrastructural barriers, and gender-based violence). In addition to comparing Colombia with OECD and other Latin American countries, the chapter addresses the articulation of gender differences across socio‑economic groups. This includes paying attention to urban and rural differences, along with differences across educational attainments, age cohorts, and income.

More than half of the total Colombian population of working age are women, which implies a sizeable talent pool. Rapid population ageing, and a shrinking labour force mean that mobilising this talent pool, while at the same time strengthening equality and dignity conditions of access to the labour market by all women, represents, and will continue to represent going forward, a priority for any Colombian policy strategy to create a more sustainable and inclusive economy and society.

In recent decades gender gaps in educational and labour market outcomes have shrunk in Colombia. Notwithstanding this important progress, in the country, just as elsewhere in Latin America and all around the world, much remains to be done to narrow gender gaps and ensure the benefits of a more equitable division of paid and unpaid work for family well-being and human capital development (see Box 1.1). Women continue to be less likely to work, and to work full-time hours, for pay. Instead, they typically spend more hours looking after children, elderly relatives, and relatives with disabilities, doing housework, shopping for food, and so on. When they work, they tend to be hired in the informal labour market. Women in Colombia spend 22 more hours per week performing unpaid tasks than men do, significantly above the average of OECD countries (15 hours). At the same time, Colombian men devote 23 more hours to paid work activities per week than women do, which is also much higher than the OECD average (12 hours).

Across the OECD but even in Colombia and Latin America at large, the unequal partition of working hours and the disproportionate amount of domestic tasks carried out by women reflect a broad set of interdependent forces, which relate more intrinsically to the fact of being a woman. For example, despite important educational gains, women continue to make educational choices likely to result in lower labour market earnings than men. Such economic outcomes are influenced, in turn, by a complex set of attitudes and gender stereotypes. In addition, the intersectional character of the drivers is very important, given that gender inequalities vary widely across socio economic groups – between younger and older generations, between urban and rural areas, between indigenous and non-indigenous populations and between couples and single parents Furthermore, Colombia’s decades-long internal conflict and violence has displaced a significant part of the population and women account for about half of total victims of internal conflict and violence, as well as forced displacement.

The youth are particularly exposed to the effects of these interacting forces. In Colombia, the rates of the youth Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEETs) as a percentage of the youth population are significantly higher than observed not only in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru but also the OECD average both among men and women. In addition, the extent of the gap between women and men is significantly wider. Young women are 2.1 times more likely to be NEETs than young men are, which is close to 75% higher than the OECD-wide average (1.4 times) and larger than the gaps observed in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. Girls from vulnerable households are particularly exposed to the risk of dropping out from school prematurely and becoming NEET since they typically dedicate a disproportionate amount of their time to unpaid domestic activities.

Shedding light on the barriers to a more equal gender distribution of paid and unpaid work in Colombia is the main objective of Chapter 1. The chapter starts with a review of women’s challenges seen from a demographic perspective and considering sub-national differences, particularly between rural and urban areas. It then presents gender gaps in educational and labour outcomes, along with a discussion of time‑sharing and earning patterns. Finally, it looks at international indicators of well-being and gender gaps that capture the influence of stereotypes and discrimination.

Box 1.1. The benefits of a more equitable division of paid and unpaid labour between men and women

Individuals working outside the home generally have a higher degree of economic independence from their partners and other family members than those who do not. Unpaid care and domestic work are also valuable, but in general do not garner the same respect as other activities. In countries where women carry out a disproportionately large share of the unpaid work burden, they are also more frequently employed in part-time or vulnerable jobs, which are often poorly paid (Ferrant, Pesando and Nowacka, 2014[1]). This is because high unpaid care and domestic work burdens often imply that women cannot find an occupation corresponding to their qualification level on a part-time basis, thus decreasing their job quality and earnings (Connolly and Gregory, 2008[2]).

By contrast, an equal division of unpaid work responsibilities can be beneficial to the entire family. Given that a more equal sharing of unpaid work reduces women’s overall work hours – in particular regarding namely housework and care of the elderly – it can reduce stress levels (MacDonald, Phipps and Lethbridge, 2005[3]). A study of British families suggests that couples in which men do more unpaid care and other housework are less likely to divorce (Sigle-Rushton, 2010[4]). The negative effects of an unequal division of unpaid work on marital quality are particularly strong when couples disagree about how egalitarian a marriage should be (Ogolsky, Dennison and Monk, 2014[5]). Men who spend more time with their children may have higher life satisfaction, and the children may have better mental and physical health and cognitive development. However, it is unclear whether these differences are driven by confounding factors that these studies do not account for (WHO, 2007[6]).

Individuals’ well-being may be boosted even more if overall unpaid work hours can be reduced. When an increasing share of the population can access stable utilities (such as running water and electricity) and labour-saving appliances (such as washing machines), and thus need fewer hours for housework, time‑poverty diminishes, while choices and well-being increase. In countries with higher levels of pre‑capita GDP, the number of hours that need to be devoted to unpaid work tend to decrease, benefitting women in particular (Ferrant and Thim, 2019[7]).

In perspective, the increased labour force participation of women will be a key to support the economic expansion of Colombia. The country’s population is ageing rapidly as fertility declines and life expectancy increases. According to the UN World Population Prospects, in 2019 more than two‑thirds of the Colombian population (68.6%) was composed of adults in a working age (between 15 and 64 years). Children under 15 years of age represented between one fifth and one‑quarter (22.6%). Older people aged 65 or over accounted for less than one tenth of Colombian inhabitants (8.8%). However, the latter age group is growing at a much faster speed than all younger age groups. It is projected to more than double in the next three decades, up to 21% of the total population in 2050, at which point in time the share of the youth will have shrunk to 15%. Correspondingly, the share of the working age population is likely to decline to 63.9% by 2050.

The benefits of an increasing women labour force participation will go far beyond an accounting “trick” of simply substituting unpaid by paid work. Estimates based on the 2016‑17 time‑use survey suggests that in Colombia unpaid domestic work contributes 15.3% of a modified GDP measure (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). Analysis of the effects of gender gaps in the labour market on aggregate productivity and income (Cuberes and Teignier, 2016[9]) finds evidence of an income loss of close to 18% in Colombia, which compares to an average loss of 15% in the OECD. Across the OECD, a simultaneous closing of gender gaps in labour force participation and working hours may increase potential GDP per capita growth by additional 0.23 percentage points per year, resulting in a 9.2% overall boost to GDP per capita relative what baseline projection estimate for 2060 (OECD, 2023[10]). Countries which have substantial gender gaps in labour force participation or working hours could see the strongest boost to annual economic growth. For example, Colombia, Costa Rica and Türkiye may see more than 0.40 percentage points of additional GDP growth per year – corresponding to economic output between 17 and 20% larger than expected for 2060. Women’s increased participation in the labour market would substitute lower- for higher-added value activities and increase the stock of human capital employed. Since young female university graduates now outnumber their male counterparts, using their human capital fully has become more urgent. Moreover, firm-level research finds that more diverse work teams are more cohesive and innovative, which suggests that bringing more women into the labour market, including into management positions, would strengthen productivity growth.

Women in Colombia: A snapshot of socio-demographic imbalances

The last census of the Colombian population, Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda, allows to obtain an up-to-date portrayal of the demographic structure of the country. Women represent 51% of the total Colombian population of working age, conventionally defined as the population between 15 and 65 years old. However, one key characteristic relates to the increasing longevity of women, as revealed by the fact that women today account for 56% of the total Colombian population aged 65 years and over and represent 53% of the total population starting from age 30 onward. The combination between these two indicators points to a process of “feminisation of ageing”, which will likely accelerate further in the next decades, further reinforcing the over-representation of women in the adult population, particularly the older population (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]).

The decomposition of the aggregate figures shows that the age structure of the Colombian population is very heterogeneous. It varies significantly across socio‑economic groups, particularly between urban and rural areas. Irrespective of age group, women in rural areas account for almost half of the total population (about 48%, on average). Moreover, the population of rural women is more concentrated than the urban population in the younger age groups. At one extreme, the departments with the youngest female population are predominantly rural: Vaupés, where the median age of women is 22.4 years old, Vichada (23.5), Guainía (23.6), Amazonas (25.6) and La Guajira (26.9). At the other end of the spectrum, female populations highest in age are in the departments of Risaralda (with a median age of 37.0 years), Caldas (37.8) and Quindío (38.1), which are characterised by a higher urban population density. At 35.7 years old, the median age of the female population in Bogotá is somewhat higher than the national median (34.1). Overall, in Colombia the median age of the rural women’s population is about 31.3 years old, some three and a half years less than the corresponding figure in urban areas (34.9 years).

In all departments of Colombia, life expectancy is higher for women than it is for men. Yet, and again, the longevity of Colombian women is far from being uniformly distributed across departments. In the urban departments women’s life expectancy is much longer than in rural areas. For example, being born a woman in Bogota, the department characterised by the highest level of longevity, means a life expectancy 15 years longer than in Vaupés, where it is the lowest.

As one mirror image of these differences, the age structure of the Colombian population also varies according to ethnicity. This reflects the fact that being born a woman (or a man) in a rural department often goes hand-in-hand with being born a woman (or a man) of ethnic origin. Accordingly, the women (and men) who self-identify as belonging to an ethnic group are on average younger than those who declare that they do not belong to any ethnic group population. For example, the youngest ethnic group comprises the individuals who self-identify themselves as belonging to the indigenous population, which makes for about 4.5% of the overall Colombian population.

The reasons behind the above strong demographic imbalances between urban and rural women in Colombia are multiple and complex (World Bank Group, 2019[11]). One major contributing factor is to be found in the fact that conditions of access to basic infrastructure, education and healthcare services are comparatively poorer in the rural areas, a situation further compounded by differences of access to land property and land uses between men and women. Another concurring factor relates to the stronger prevalence of patriarchal social norms in these areas. Acting in combination, these forces explain the higher fertility of women in rural areas – particularly those belonging to ethnic groups – who more likely encounter obstacles in the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights.

One additional reason that stands out is Colombia’s decades-long conflict, of which the worst effects have been suffered by the rural populations (World Bank Group, 2019[11]). According to the Registro Único de Víctimas (RUV, Single Register of Victims, which commenced in 1985), by the end of 2020 internal conflict and violence had resulted in a cumulative figure of more than 9 million people being victims of situations of violence. Out of this total, about 90% suffered forced displacement in 2020, with women accounting for about half of total victims of internal conflict and violence, as well as forced displacement (Unidad de victimas, 2022[12]).

Since the sudden starting of massive immigration flows from neighbouring Venezuela, internal domestic and international migratory pressures have tended to overlap. The 2020 Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) highlights that, at the end of 2020, Colombia registered the highest number of displaced people globally, with the northeast regions on the border with Venezuela, the Pacific coast bordering Panama and the northwest, the areas most impacted by mass displacement (UNHCR, 2021[13]).

The data also reveals that the trend of internal domestic migration with respect to age is consistent with the international one. In both cases, recent movements concentrate on the ages of entry into the labour market, which also closely match closely reproductive ages. Similarly, there is a greater presence of children under 14, an outcome of family reunifications.

Gender gaps in key economic outcomes

Education

There is an extensive body of research focussing on the importance of education for individuals and society: individuals with higher levels of education typically have a higher probability of being employed, earning a higher income (OECD, 2019[14]) and being healthier (Conti, Heckman and Urzua, 2010[15]; Dávila-Cervantes and Agudelo-Botero, 2019[16]). At societal level, the return on the investment in education mainly reflects the enhanced contribution to aggregate productivity growth generated by a more educated labour force (Mincer, 1984[17]).

In the case of women, these benefits are even greater, reflecting the double effect of education on women’s earning opportunities: On top of increasing skills, productivity and income opportunities (Woodhall, 1973[18]; Montenegro and Patrinos, 2014[19]) education contributes to reducing the gap in earning between men and women that is attributable to discrimination (Dougherty, 2005[20]). Additional gains materialise from the decrease of child mortality and unwanted pregnancies. Importantly, inter-generational redistribution will improve, since the increased education of mothers typically leads to an improvement in the health and educational outcomes of children, even after taking into account the father’s education and household income (Schultz, 1993[21]). Furthermore, by making women feel more empowered to speak out to affirm their needs, rights and aspirations, higher returns of education increase their bargaining power within the household (Heath and Jayachandran, 2017[22])

Evidence for Colombia corroborates these patterns by showing that the gender wage gap narrows as the level of women’s education increases. Women with primary education earn 35% less than men with the same level of education, while women with tertiary education earn 19% less than their male peers (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). National data also shows that there is a relation between educational level and birth control. At age 35, 28% of women with higher levels of education have not become mothers, compared to 14% of women with middle level education and 9% of those with lower levels of education (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). This also suggests an inverse relation between motherhood and education achievements, namely being a mother at an early age reduces the chances to continue studying and obtaining a higher degree.

Following a pattern common to other countries in Latin America (OECD, 2021[23]), educational attainments in Colombia have improved strongly from one cohort to the next, with particularly large gains among women. In 2021, around 61% of men and women aged 55 to 64 years had less than an upper secondary degree (Figure 1.1). Among young adults who went to school three decades later, the same share drops to about 28% for men and 21% for women. Concomitantly, the share of high-school achievers (those having completed an upper and post-secondary education curriculum) increases by close to 22% among men and women. The share of tertiary graduates increases by 10% for men and 17% for women in the 25‑34 age bracket, compared to the 55‑64 age group.

As a result, young women have started to out-perform young men in terms of educational attainments. Among 25‑34 year‑olds, the share of tertiary graduates is higher for women than men (35% compared to 27%). Despite these gains, there remains significant scope for further improvements to close the gap with the average of the OECD countries, where the shares of women and men with tertiary education equal 53% and 41%, respectively, for the same age group.

Figure 1.1. Women attain more tertiary degrees than men

In Colombia enrolment rates for both girls and boys in the age of primary education equals 93%, the outcome of years of significant progress toward achieving universal primary education. However, enrolment rates decline strongly with age regardless of gender, although at 48% the enrolment rate in upper secondary education is 10 percentage points higher for girls than boys (Figure 1.2). Colombia’s enrolment rates in upper secondary education are relatively low in the international comparison, both relative to the other Latin American countries and the OECD.

The factors that explain the inverse relation between age and enrolment rates in Colombia include the out-of-school activities that children perform. In Colombia, girls in the age bracket between 10 and 17 years old allocate three hours daily to household chores and care activities, compared to two hours for boys (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). For the 15‑17 year age group, the gap of caring time increases from one hour to about one‑hour and a half daily, which suggests not only that the unequal distribution of non-remunerated activities reinforces with age, but also starts from an early age. Longitudinal survey analysis by the Universidad de los Andes – ELCA, Encuesta Longitudinal Colombiana de la Universidad de los Andes – finds that although the probability of helping at home is similar for boys and girls, the number of hours worked is higher for girls. Moreover, the extent of the gap in the time spent on household chores is wider in rural areas than urban areas (Universidad De Los Andes, 2018[24]).

International analysis that also includes Colombia among the sample countries, confirms that, although school attendance declines for both girls and boys as the time spent on household chores increases, for girls it falls at a faster speed. Specifically, in the interval between 14 and 28 hours of domestic work per week, the fall of girls’ school attendance ranges between 70% and 90%, whereas school attendance declines by half as much for boys (ILO, 2009[25]).

Furthermore, recent analysis of Colombia by the World Bank depicts the presence of a strong rural-urban divide (World Bank Group, 2019[11]). Namely, more than half of women between 13 and 24 years old do not attend any educational institution in rural areas, compared to around 37% of women in urban areas. Even when rural girls stay at school, education achievements tend to be sub-standard, especially in mathematics. A study based on 20 countries concluded that work after school, whether paid or unpaid work negatively affects maths scores of girls and boys, even when family resources and school effects are taken into account (Post and Pong, 2009[26]). This reflects the fact that working students tend to be clustered in low performing schools. Full-time students who are free of work obligations also attend similar schools but of a higher quality.

Teenage pregnancy plays an important role in explaining girls’ premature departures from education. By age 18, one in six adolescents has had at least one child in Colombia, and three‑quarters among 15‑19 year‑old mothers have already left the school system (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). It should be mentioned that, although the figures for Colombia broadly aligns to the average of Latin America, the region taken as a whole is second only to the Sub-Saharan African region (PAHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, 2017[27]). Beyond the special care demands that come with the birth of a child, pregnant girls and teenage mothers are additionally restrained from continuing their studies because of discriminatory practices. Unlike girls and young women in Colombia’s cities, those in rural areas are more likely to cite child pregnancy or marriage as the main reason for not attending school or a university programme (World Bank Group, 2019[11]). Four in ten young women living in rural areas are not in education, employment or training.

Figure 1.2. Women are more frequently enrolled in upper secondary education than men, but far less than their peers in LAC and OECD countries

In Colombia, the rate of out-of-school children increases considerably with age and across education levels (Figure 1.3). In addition, the aggregate number masks important differences between ethnicities, income groups, and locations. For the group of 6 to 11‑year‑olds, for example, the rate of school attendance among children who belong to families that self-recognise themselves as indigenous is 74%, compared to 92% among children from families that do not belong to any ethnical group (based on the criterion of ethnic self-recognition). For the group of 12‑18 year‑olds, the rate falls to 55% for indigenous children, compared to 74% for other children. These patterns highlight the presence of a persistent gap – of approximately 20 percentage points – in school attendance between indigenous children and other children (Freire et al., 2015[28]).

The percentage share of indigenous youth leaving education without completing upper secondary school approximates 45 points (World Bank, 2021[29]), almost twice the country’s average. Rural children receive on average five and a half years of education, compared to more than 9 years for children from urban areas. In rural areas, the illiteracy rate among children over 15 years old exceeds 12%, which is almost four times higher than in the urban areas (3.3%) (USAID, 2020[30]).

The stark divide between the department of Guainía and the district of Bogotá illustrates well the importance of the interplay between, on the one hand, ethnicity and rurality, and, on the other hand, education achievements. Guainía, whose population is largely rural and from indigenous communities (about 10% of the total), has a drop-out rate ten times higher than that of Bogota, whose population is mainly urban, while the indigenous population counts for a fairly small proportion of the total population (approximately 2%) (LEE, 2020[31]). Frequently reported reasons why children in Guainía drop out of school include language differences, a particularly important barrier among children of indigenous communities, and lack of security, the latter being particularly important in neighbourhoods controlled by gangs. In addition, the rural areas appear penalised by problems of long commuting, the lack of infrastructure and/or quality support programmes targeting the families but also, in a number of cases, the lack of parental support (Universidad De Los Andes, 2018[24]).

Figure 1.3. The out-of-school rate is lower for girls than boys across age groups, but it increases significantly with school age

The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) allows to draw a gendered perspective of education achievements of teenagers. In Colombia, there are more boys than girls among “low achievers“, in the subject of reading (Figure 1.4). Conversely, girls are more numerous among maths and science “low achievers”. These results broadly align with the evidence of the Latin American and OECD countries, although in Colombia the gender gap in mathematics and science is much wider (OECD, 2018[32]).

Figure 1.4. There are gender differences in the share of low, but not of top, performers in the PISA study in Colombia

Specific work on Colombia, using information derived from the national test Saber 11, underscores the presence of a statistically significant gender gap, which reflects boys’ higher global scores in math, and science (Abadía and Bernal, 2017[34]). In addition, sizeable gaps between boys and girls are observed among students with higher scores. Although girls score slightly higher than boys in reading, the difference diminishes along the distribution, which implies that it favours boys in the uppermost quintile (top 20%).

The regional decomposition of gender gaps reveals that girls have lower global scores in every region, with Arauca, Quindío, Caldas, Meta, and Bogotá the five regions with the largest gaps. Likewise, in regions where the advantage of girls in reading is comparatively less pronounced, the disadvantages of girls in math and science girls are most pronounced. The same work finds the presence of persistent academic gaps between boys and girls even after adjusting for observable personal, family, and school characteristics. This points, in turn, to the relevant role that unobserved factors play in explaining the gender academic gap, particularly the impact of pervasive attitudes and gendered differences within Colombian society.

Knowledge and proficiency gaps are relevant predictors of later education and occupation choices. For example, the evidence of a lower academic performance of girls in subjects such as science and math, using the international PISA test and the national test Saber 11, suggests that girls will continue experiencing limited access to higher education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Gender gaps in STEM areas represent a worldwide problem, despite these disciplines generating higher returns to education and higher employability levels. In Colombia, the available figures show that the share of male graduates in STEM subjects exceeds the corresponding share of female graduates by about 19 percentage points, which is somewhat lower than the average of OECD countries (25 percentage points). In comparison with regional countries, the extent of the gender gap in STEM disciplines is significantly smaller than in Chile, albeit much larger than, for example, Peru (Figure 1.5).

An analysis of gender gaps in Colombia’s higher education programmes in engineering shows that little more than one‑third (36%) of all students holding an undergraduate certificate in this field of studies were women in 2018 (Hamid Betancur and Torres-Madronero, 2021[35]). A similar percentage is observable for master and doctoral programmes, with the evidence available also pointing to little progress since 2001. The gender gap in engineering is found to be wider in some areas, such as Bogotá, for example, although it varies depending upon the specific field of specialisation. For example, women represent more than 50% of students in programmes such as administrative, environmental, biomedical, chemical, agro‑industrial, food, and industrial engineering. By contrast, they are drastically underrepresented in careers such as mechanics, electricity, electronics, and telecommunications, where they are less than 20%. The authors conclude that wide differences in representation harm the policies to promote “Industry 4.0” sectors, which encompass the transformative activities of the future and have a strong accent on competencies in interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data.

Several factors explain observed performance differences between girls and boys in quantitative subjects, and the weak orientation of women towards STEM occupations. Some refer to the influence of entrenched biases in attitudes and beliefs about the roles that men and women play in Colombian society, particularly given the fact that, for a start, score differences in maths tests are negligible among small children (Kahn and Ginther, 2018[36]). Reflecting these biases, Colombian girls start developing a perception that scientific careers are a prerogative of boys from an early age, which tilts their preferences towards academic disciplines in the sphere of humanities (Nollenberger, Rodríguez-Planas and Sevilla, 2016[37]). Chapter 2 discusses how gender-sensitive education can help to reduce the influence of gender stereotypes in education.

Figure 1.5. Women in Colombia are under-represented among STEM graduates, with a gender gap similar to the OECD

Employment

In Colombia, 48% of women of working age (15‑64 years old) were employed in 2021, compared to 74% of men (Figure 1.6). The resulting employment gender gap of 26 percentage points is similar to that of Costa Rica, although higher than seen in Chile and Peru. It also exceeds the OECD average by 12 percentage points.

Available analysis highlights the presence of considerable variations by socio‑economic groups. For example, recent work by the Gender, Justice and Security Hub finds that the gender gap in labour force participation varies depending upon the level of education (The Gender, Justice and Security Hub, 2020[38]). Women with a high level of education have a participation rate 7 percentage points lower than men with the same level of education. When measured at primary and secondary levels, the gap in participation widens significantly to 33 and 20 percentage points, respectively. These differences reflect the fact that at lower levels of education women are more likely to be employed in the informal labour market. The same analysis shows that participation is lower for individuals from poor households and particularly women. In the lowest decile of income, men’s participation rate is 60%, while women’s participation rate is 41%.

These patterns have a strong regional connotation. During the 2010s, the share of women of working age who lived in urban areas and participated in the labour market ranged from between 56% (2010) and 58% (2015), before declining to 52% in 2020 (reflecting the effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic, see Figure 1.7). Over the same period, the figures for the rural areas were 37% (2010), 41% (2015) and 35% (2020). By contrast, participation rates were significantly more stable for men in both rural and urban areas, and persistently above 70%. In some rural areas, the gender gap in labour force participation is more than twice the level of the urban centres. For example, in Caldas, Caqueta and Huila, the gap measures 29%, more than twice the level in Bogota (13%) (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). Sizeable regional differences in participation mirror, in turn, existing regional differences in educational outcomes.

Figure 1.7. Labour force participation of men and women in rural and urban areas

As elsewhere in the world, one important factor that pushes many women in Colombia to withdraw (at least temporarily) from the labour force is motherhood. Figures provided by the national statistical office suggest a negative correlation between number of children and the employment rate of women. While 74% of women with no children are employed, the rate falls to 72% of women with one child, to 70% of those with two children, and 65% for women with three or more children. In rural areas, the employment rate of women with one or more child is 18 percentage points lower than observed for women without children (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]).

Recent cross country assessment of the links between motherhood and the labour market outcomes in four Latin American countries – Chile, Mexico, Peru and Honduras – finds that motherhood lowers women’s labour supply, while at the same time shifting occupational choices towards more flexible jobs, such as part-time jobs, self-employment, and informal work arrangements (Berniell et al., 2021[39]). The authors underline that, although these effects occur right after childbirth, they tend to persist in the medium and longer term. Given that fathers’ labour outcomes remain unaffected, these findings reveal that motherhood triggers the polarisation of labour markets, with higher quality jobs more likely to be a prerogative of men while women are more likely to work in low quality occupations.

Mirroring the impact on employment rates, motherhood negatively affects women’s wages. A study shows that mothers in Latin America earn on average 13% less than women with no children. Such a difference widens to 21% when the children are under the age of five. Each additional child translates into an increase of the probability to experience a loss in wage (Botello, H. A., & López Alba, A, 2014[40]).

Analysis for Colombia has focussed on the effects on the labour participation of young mothers induced by two subsequent rounds of legislative changes to extend maternity leave (Uribe, Vargas and Bustamante, 2019[41]; Mojica Urueña et al., 2021[42]).The first regulatory change, which dates back to 2011, brought the leave period from 12 to 14 weeks, while the second, introduced in 2017, extended the leave further, from 14 to 18 weeks. This analysis finds that, while welcome, the extensions of the maternity leave have also had unintended effects on female labour participation by exacerbating the risk of young women of childbearing age to become inactive, or else become self-employed, or even transiting to a job in the informal sector. According to the authors these unintentional outcomes highlight the need for accompanying awareness raising actions to tackle the cultural perceptions on parenting and measures to support the uptake of parental leave by fathers. Chapter 2 of this report includes a detailed discussion of these policies.

As noted above, when they are employed women are more likely to be hired in low quality jobs, for example, part-time employment is relatively more widespread among women than men (Figure 1.8). Like other countries in the region and the OECD average, about two in ten women who are employed in Colombia work part-time – compared to one in ten for men. Additionally, many Colombian women work informally. For the working population, the share of informal workers equals about 65% for both men and women. In rural areas the share of informal workers is 82%, which is close to 30 percentage points higher than in the urban areas (53%) (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]). Such conditions expose women to particularly high risks of vulnerability, as the shocks brought about by the COVID‑19 pandemic, for example.

Figure 1.8. A higher share of female employees in Colombia work part-time

Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) represent an important part of the Colombian economy. In 2017, MSMEs generated 80% of employment, represented 90% of the country’s business sector and contributed 40% of GDP (OECD, 2019[43]). In Colombia, the share of own-account workers is significantly higher than the regional average both among women and men – by as many as 14 percentage points. However, as in many countries around the world, the rate of own-account workers is lower for women than for men – although, at 5 percentage points, the difference is not out of line with the average of Latin American countries (Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.9. A smaller share of female workers are employers

The Women’s Advancement Outcome of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs provides a metric indicator of women’s economic progress, obtained after weighting various positions as business leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and labour force participants, across a sample of 65 economies. The latest assessment ranks Colombia second in the indicator (Mastercard, 2022[44]). Meanwhile, successive Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reports have praised Colombia for its population’s positive attitude towards entrepreneurship and the level of confidence that Colombians show in their abilities to start and run a business (Stevenson, Varela and Moreno, 2013[45]; Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2019[46]).

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor regularly produces a Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) indicator, which measures the percentage share of the adult population (18 to 64 years) in the process of starting (or who have just started) a business. In 2022, the Colombian TEA declined significantly from the previous year, a change largely attributable to the lagging effect of COVID‑19 on Colombia’s new entrepreneurial activities. Nevertheless, Colombia’s women-to-men ratio of the TEA continues to exceed 80%, corresponding to the 16th highest among the 50 economies that participated in the review, and the 4th highest in the group of economies with similar levels of GDP per capita that comprises Colombia (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2022[47]).

Although Panel A of Figure 1.9 does not show a significant gender gap for the group of own-account workers, Panel B reveals that male own-account workers employ twice more than female own-account workers. The explanation behind this is to be found in the fact that women’s businesses are more likely to be informal and to take the judicial form of natural persons whose businesses are individually-owned, rather than having a corporate structure. These microenterprises are often created out of necessity and remain carried out individually, offering limited opportunities for further job creation.

The factors that typically trigger the creation of a small business may be less prevalent or accessible to women’s small businesses. These include the lack of access to external resources, such as free labour from family members, and to networks. For Colombia, work on women’s businesses in Bucaramanga finds that successful male entrepreneurs are far more likely than women to mention the support provided by the family as a key factor of success (Powers and Magnoni, 2013[48]).

The drivers of a small business also reflect personal characteristics and motivations, such as the opportunity to organise working times more flexibly, or the capacity to respond to a new entrepreneurial opportunity, rather than out of necessity. A recent survey among entrepreneurs of Pacific Alliance countries, which also reviewed Colombia, enquired about the motivations of these entrepreneurs to create their own business. The answer “more flexible hours” received the highest score among women. By contrast, the answer “I developed a product or service” gathered the fewest female responses and the most male responses. Additionally, the survey results show that women’s businesses are over-represented in sectors such as domestic services (69%) and under-represented in sectors such as financial services (12%) (OEAP, 2018[49]).Women’s businesses grow more slowly in terms of assets than men’s and tend to concentrate in the least profitable sectors.

Women’s employment in Colombia is higher in activities that are generally associated with relatively low labour earnings. Analysis carried out by the Departamento Adminiastrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE, Colombian National Statistical Office) finds that in 2019, two branches combined accounted for 65.1% of employed women and 34.5% of employed men, respectively: i) Commerce, hotels, restaurants and ii) Social and personal communal services (Daniel et al., 2020[50]). Labour market segregation by gender is persistent, i.e. observable both horizontally (across areas of activity in which women appear to be over-represented) and vertically (in terms of occupational position and lack of access to managerial positions). At the same time, women are over-represented in positions as domestic workers (94.1%) and unpaid family workers (63.3%). These figures are reflected in the gender distribution of earning patterns, which shows that in Colombia, women working full time are around 1.3 times more likely than men to earn less than two‑thirds of the median wage (Figure 1.10).

Figure 1.10. In Colombia, as elsewhere, women are more likely to be low paid

Using figures of the median monthly wages of men and women working full time, women in Colombia earn 4% less than men, which makes for a relatively low gap in comparison with other countries in the Latin America region: Chile (8.6%), Costa Rica (4.7%), and Peru (16.7%) (Figure 1.11. It is also three times lower than that of the OECD average (12%). However, Colombia’s gender wage gap should be interpreted with caution due to the presence of selection effects around the type (and number) of women who enter and remain in work, which may create a bias towards a relatively low aggregate gap (OECD, 2017[51]). In addition, the choice of the focus on full-time employees entails trade‑offs. While it allows to concentrate on a relatively homogenous sub-sample of workers, only 39% of the population and 38% of employed women work in these conditions in Colombia (Daniel et al., 2020[50]).

More granular analysis of gender wage differences across groups of the Colombian population by the DANE suggests that the size of the gap affects certain groups of women more than others (Daniel et al., 2020[50]). For example, the level of the gender wage gap is significantly higher in rural areas, among women with children and women who identify as indigenous. Self-employed women and women employed in the informal sector also experience a relatively sizeable wage gap. With regards to sectors of activity, wage gaps in favour of men tend to be wider in the sectors characterised by the highest incidence of female labour, as is the case in service sectors (community services, social and personal, tourism and commerce, hotels and restaurants). Gaps are also observable at all levels of responsibilities, including managerial ones, although less so among the population working 40 or more hours, in the more highly masculinised branches of activity and in the higher income centile (Daniel et al., 2020[50]).

Figure 1.11. Using the OECD definition, the gender pay gap in Colombia is rather low

Drivers of gender gaps in outcomes

Various economic theories explain the underlying causes of gender gaps in economic outcomes. Those that put the accent on human capital factors emphasise the characteristics of the workers and their jobs, particularly the level of education, work experience and skills required to fulfil specific tasks and responsibilities. However, human capital characteristics will hardly be enough to capture the wide range of factors explaining gender gaps, if left alone. As highlighted in the previous sections, although education certainly represents an important factor in explaining female employment outcomes, there are also other drivers at play, which relate more intrinsically to the fact of being a woman (Bertrand, 2020[52]; Ciminelli and Schwellnus, 2021[53]). For example, despite important educational gains, women continue to make educational choices likely to result in lower labour market earnings than men. One practical proof of this is the under-representation of women in STEM disciplines. As another example, motherhood can lead women to change labour market decisions in ways that permanently alter careers and undermine earning prospects. In addition, the launch of a new business activity by a woman often happens out of necessity, rather than being triggered by an innovative entrepreneurial opportunity with a potential to expand. Much of these patterns in choices, preferences and opportunities are endogenous to the presence of sticky stereotypes about gender-specific roles, skills, and professions.

Furthermore, the typical disadvantages that stand in the way of acquiring the skills needed to find a quality job that translates into higher earnings prospects in the formal sector are intersectional. In other words, they interact with other risk factors, such as being at a young age, living in a rural area, coming from a poor household, or belonging to an indigenous population group. Although girls and boys share the latter risks and disadvantages equally at birth, it is obvious that any additional barriers to entry that girls and women face, first into education and later into the labour market, will be particularly distortive to outcomes. In the presence of gender stereotypes women have much more to lose from the exposure to other important and pre‑existing hurdles than men have.

Figure 1.12 provides an aggregate illustration of the outcomes of these complex interactions between sources of pressure. It does so by depicting the international comparison of the rates of the youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETs) as a percentage of the youth population. At 17.1% and 37.1%, respectively for young men and women, in Colombia NEETs rates are significantly higher than observed in the regional comparator countries and the OECD average for both groups. In addition, the extent of the gap between women and men is significantly wider. Young women are 2.2 times more likely to be NEETs than young men are, which is close to 70% higher than the OECD-wide average (1.3 times) and larger than the gaps observed in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

Figure 1.12. Women are much more likely to be NEETs than men

The reasons that explain this situation are multiple. They trace back to the traditional gender-related assignment of roles, whereby women do most of the unpaid domestic work, alongside caring for children and other family members. Another reason may reflect the influence of inherited cultural factors, gender stereotypes and attitudes and their interplay in influencing preferences and actual behaviours differently. Another relates to the role that laws and institutions play in reinforcing these interactions, such as inequalities of access to the property and uses of land, for example. Finally, access to the infrastructure also matters, with the availability of quality care facilities and the supporting physical infrastructure representing one example. The reminder of this section provides a review of these forces, which complement the role that human capital factors play in shaping gender economic outcomes.

Unpaid work

One key explanation of the lower labour force participation and higher part-time employment rate of women is the higher number of hours that they spend on unpaid care and housework activities. Women in Colombia spend 22 more hours per week performing these tasks than men do, just below Chile (23 hours), Costa Rica (23 hours) and Peru (24 hours), although significantly above the average of OECD countries (15 hours) (Figure 1.13, Panel A). At the same time, Colombian men devote 23 more hours to paid work activities per week than women do, which makes for a sizeable gap, both compared with Chile and Costa Rica (15 hours in both countries) and the OECD average (12 hours).

Girls do more unpaid work, and boys more paid work, when teenagers (Figure 1.13, Panel B). On average, girls in Colombia spend 5 hours per week more on unpaid work than boys, time essentially dedicated to household chores. Conversely, boys spend 7 hours per week more than girls on paid work. As discussed above, unpaid work jeopardises school attendance and learning, prompting the poorer educational outcomes of girls. In addition, a biased configuration of responsibilities earlier on influences future roles in households.

Figure 1.13. Women and girls in Colombia carry out more hours of unpaid work than men and boys

The Encuesta Nacional de Uso del Tiempo (ENUT, National Survey of the Use of Time) carried out regularly by the DANE, provides information on the time spent by the population aged 10 and over in paid and unpaid work activities. During the period from September 2020 to August 2021, 53.3% of men participated in paid working activities that are classified under the system of national accounts (SNA), while only 29.9% of women participated in these activities (DANE, 2021[54]). With regards to the participation in unpaid work activities, which are not included in the SNA, the share of women is 90.4%, compared to 63.4% of men. The comparison with the previous survey (2016‑17) suggests that values have remained fairly stable over time.

The paid and unpaid work distribution generally starts diverging with parenthood. This also happens in countries where egalitarian attitudes are more prevalent and where there are small or no gaps in the labour market outcomes of young men and women. The decision of new mothers to stay at home after giving birth may become permanent thereafter if it results in a significant alteration of the allocation of work responsibilities within the couple. The extent of this shift will depend upon the attitudes of parents (also see the following section) and their relative labour income (Schober, 2011[55]; Sanchez and Thomson, 1997[56]). The ENUT survey shows that the average daily time spent on unpaid work activities is 10 hours and 47 minutes, and 9 hours and 51 minutes among Colombian women in the 30 to 39, and 18 to 29 age brackets, respectively (DANE, 2021[54]).

In Colombia, 46.6% of families with at least one child under 15 years old register one partner who works full-time and the other who does not work for pay (Table 1.1, Panel A). This is far higher than the OECD average (25.8%), which, conversely, registers higher shares of couples with both parents working full-time, or one parent working full-time and the other part-time. The reasons behind this imbalance can be practical, if, for example, a mother is still breast-feeding or has children who cannot benefit from childcare services outside the family circle. However, it often reflects cultural attitudes, according to which care and housework duties are “women’s prerogatives”. Financial considerations often compound the influence of these factors even further, particularly the anticipation of the fact that the woman would earn significantly less than the man.

One out of four single parents do not work in Colombia (Table 1.1, Panel B). Although this is close to the OECD average, the proportion of female‑headed households – notably single‑parent households – has increased particularly rapidly in the past decades in Colombia. While in 1990, women headed 22.8% of households, this share rose to 40.7% in 2018 (ONU Mujeres/DANE/Consejería Presidencial para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2020[8]).

A. Distribution (%) of employment patterns in couples with at least one child aged 0‑14
	Both partners full-time	One partner full-time, one partner part-time	One partner full-time, one partner not working	Both partners not working	Other
Chile	39.0	9.6	44.5	3.0	3.9
Colombia	31.8	15.4	46.6	2.6	3.6
Costa Rica	21.1	12.7	36.4	1.2	28.6
Peru	35.2	32.0	22.8	1.2	8.7
OECD average	45.6	16.9	25.8	3.4	8.3
B. Distribution (%) of single parents with at least one child aged 0‑14 by employment status
	Working full-time	Working part-time	Working – no information on hours	Not working
Chile	57.2	13.5	0.1	29.3
Colombia	58.8	15.4		25.8
Costa Rica	44.2	21.1		34.7
Peru	64.7	24.8		10.5
OECD average	57.3	15.5	1.4	26.4

Note: Data for Chile refer to 2017 and for Peru to 2018. For Chile, the distinction between part-time and full-time work is based on actual hours worked in the main job during the survey reference week, rather than usual weekly working hours. For Peru, working hours were imputed when responses were missing. For Colombia and Costa Rica data refer to the employment status of the two parents in “two parent households” or “couple families” with at least one child aged 0‑14, rather than to couples themselves. For Costa Rica data cover households where at least one child (aged 0‑14) shares a relationship with the reported “head of household” only. For more information please refer to the OECD Database on Gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean under https://www.oecd.org/latin-america/regional-programme/gender/.

Source: “LMF2.2 Patterns of employment and the distribution of working hours for couples with children” and “LMF2.3 Patterns of employment and the distribution of working hours for single parents ”, OECD Family Database, http://www.oecd.org/social/family/database.htm, accessed on February 2023; and own estimations based on the INE (2019), Encuesta Nacional de Hogares.

Stereotypes and attitudes to gender equality

Gender stereotypes can influence female employment in multiple ways. Women who believe that their role is in the home will likely feel less inclined to seek outside employment (Christiansen et al., 2016[57]). This supply effect often appears compounded by the attitude of partners, if they not only hold the same view but also believe that it is their right to impose it on the spouse. Restrictive masculinities, such as that “real” men should be the breadwinner and earn more than the woman, can contribute to the exclusion of women from better quality positions that are more highly paid (OECD, 2021[58]). In addition, views about gender roles in the labour market can also influence the demand for female jobs: employers who believe that certain jobs should go to men, as a priority, are less likely to hire women or pay them the same wage. In countries where more men than women believe that scarce jobs should go to men first, the gender pay gap tends to be larger (Fortin, 2005[59]). On the other hand, the expansion of women’s employment will likely have feedback effects on gender attitudes, improving them over time (Seguino, 2007[60]).

The evidence available suggests that the traditional male breadwinner vis-a-vis female homemaker divide is still common in Colombia, contributing to perpetuating existing attitudes and stereotypes. For several years, the World Value Survey has analysed these attitudes by comparing international feedback on:

The “right” of women to participate in the labour market and education (“When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women” and “A university education is more important for a boy than a girl”);
The leadership potential of both genders (“On the whole, men make better political leaders than women do”); and
The compatibility of being a mother and working (“When a mother works for pay, children suffer”).

Figure 1.14 compares Colombia with other Latin American countries and a selection of OECD countries on the above statements. Overall, the results for Colombia suggest a mixed picture. For example, fewer individuals than the Latin American average support the statement that “When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women”. However, the share of men agreeing with this statement is significantly higher than that of women. In addition, although the share of total respondents agreeing with the statement that children suffer when the mother works appears to be in line with the Latin American average, it is much higher than the OECD average. More women than men support this view (54% and 44%, respectively).

Figure 1.14. In Colombia the share of men and women with traditional views on women’s role in economic life is similar to LAC trends

The National Survey on the Use of Time (ENUT) provides additional insights on gendered roles and stereotyping in Colombia and their potential role in influencing observed disparities in labour market participation. According to one finding of the Survey, 86.1% of the Colombian population agrees, or strongly agrees, with the statement that “both men and women should contribute to the household income” (DANE, 2021[54]). Nevertheless, when the questions address gender roles more directly, opinions are not as favourable. Specifically, four out of ten of interviewed people agree, or strongly agree, with the statement according to which “a man’s duty is to earn money and a woman’s duty is to take care of the home and family”. This proportion is considerably smaller in urban areas than rural areas (37.7% and 60.2%, respectively) (DANE, 2021[54]). In addition, seven out of ten Colombians consider that “women are better at doing domestic work than men”, a proportion that reaches almost 80% in rural areas (DANE, 2021[54]).

Institutions and laws

An analysis across developing and emerging economies suggests that equality under the law, the respect of the right of equal inheritance and the right for women to be head of a household are associated with a decline in the gender gap in labour force participation of around 4.6 percentage points (Gonzales et al., 2015[61]). During the past three decades, Colombia has made great strides in reducing discriminatory laws and regulations that can limit the ability of women to choose any profession they want, start a business and be paid equally. The adoption of the 1991 Constitution, which is still in force, established that all individuals shall enjoy the same rights, freedom, and opportunities, without any discrimination, including on account of gender. The equality of all men and women to a job under equitable and dignified conditions, alongside the right to choose a profession or occupation, paved the way to the elimination of many customary laws, which prevented women from working outside the home, having a bank account, and getting loans, or owning and inheriting assets.

The National Development Plan 2018‑22 included for the first time a chapter on Gender Equity (World Bank Group, 2019[11]), with increasing the educational and economic empowerment of women to eliminate gender gaps in the labour markets a key policy objective. The Plan also prioritises mainstreaming gender equality across all other sectors and areas.

The current National Development Plan (DNP) 2022‑26, “Colombia World Power of Life”, includes a strong focus on the mainstreaming of gender policies. To this effect, it incorporates a specific chapter to underscore that change can only be achieved through active engagement of women. This Plan focuses on the importance of closing the gaps between men and women to achieve sustainable development and lasting peace. It prioritises the role of women as engine of economic and sustainable development, including environmental protection. It emphasises the creation and implementation of the National Care System for the redistribution and reduction of unpaid care work. In addition, the DNP establishes measures to promote the participation of women as the cornerstone of the life and peace policy, the recognition and guarantee of women’s health rights, and mechanisms to advance in the eradication of all violence against women and gender-based violence.

Recent international surveys compare the progress achieved by Colombia to improve the regulatory framework against gender discrimination. The OECD’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (OECD, 2020[62]) rates the level of gender discrimination in Colombia’s national laws as very low, below the LAC and OECD average (Table 1.2). At the same time, the World Bank Women, Business and the Law index scores Colombia 84 out of 100, below the OECD and Latin American averages (Table 1.3). Women in Colombia have the same legal rights to mobility in the workplace, in marriage, parenthood, and assets, as men have. Colombia does not receive a full score in four components: pay, entrepreneurship, and pension. For example, the Business and Law index suggests that in Colombia the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is not enshrined in the law, while the law does not explicitly prohibit discrimination in access to credit based on gender.

	SIGI		Discrimination in the family		Restricted physical integrity		Restricted access to productive and financial resources		Restricted civil liberties
	Score	Cat.	Score	Cat.	Score	Cat.	Score	Cat.	Score	Cat.
Colombia	15	Very low	9.6	Very low	14.9	Low	14.5	Low	20.6	Low
Peru	24.5	Low	47.7	Medium	26.6	Medium	5.5	Very low	12.9	Low
Costa Rica	27.9	Low	45.7	Medium	24.8	Low	27.5	Medium	10.5	Low
Chile	36.1	Medium	36.4	Medium	18.8	Low	64.8	High	16.6	Low
Latin America	25.4		31.2		21.8		22.9		20.2
OECD	17.2		25.1		12.6		13.4		17.3

Note: The Latin American and OECD averages are unweighted means. The Latin American and the Caribbean average of the SIGI is based on Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay. The discrimination in the family indicator is in addition based on Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Argentina, Panama and Venezuela (the latter three also for the productive and financial resources and civil liberties dimensions). For more information please refer to the OECD Database on Gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean under https://www.oecd.org/latin-america/regional-programme/gender/.

Source: OECD (2020[62]), SIGI 2020 Regional Report for Latin America and the Caribbean, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/cb7d45d1-en.

	WBL INDEX	Mobility	Workplace	Pay	Marriage	Parenthood	Entrepreneurship	Assets	Pension
Chile	80	100	75	75	80	100	75	60	75
Colombia	84	100	100	50	100	100	75	100	50
Costa Rica	86	100	100	75	100	40	75	100	100
Peru	95	100	100	100	80	80	100	100	100
LAC	87	100	95	77	93	71	84	96	80
OECD	94	100	98	88	96	91	95	99	86

Note: The LAC and OECD averages are unweighted. For the index, 35 questions are scored across the eight indicators based on laws and regulations that were in force at the time of the development of the index. Overall scores were calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 representing the highest possible score. For more information please refer to the OECD Database on Gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean under https://www.oecd.org/latin-america/regional-programme/gender.

Source: World Bank (2022[63]), Women, Business and the Law data 2022, https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/wbl.

Care and physical infrastructure

Another factor that can contribute to differences in economic outcomes between men and women is the physical and social infrastructure and, related to this, the availability of labour-saving household technology. Access to reliable and affordable local transport, facilities and services for childcare, elderly care, and the care of people with disabilities, along with electricity and running water, affect how many hours adult household members need to spend on commuting, looking after children, cooking and cleaning and the hours they can devote to paid work. As discussed, given prevailing gender stereotypes and gender pay gaps, women usually end up doing a disproportionate share of unpaid work in the household. At the same time, access to public infrastructure affects how safe people feel and hence their perception about what activities they can pursue. For example, if girls and women have to cross poorly lit areas to get to school or to work, or if sexual harassment is common on public transport, they will avoid going out when it is dark or taking the bus. Insecurity limits the range of economic and leisure options open to women.

Although infrastructure plays an important role in facilitating women’s active participation in the labour market and public life in general, it typically varies strongly by geographic areas. Different types of higher quality infrastructure are generally available within the urban areas where well-off households live. Even if a certain infrastructure is not available in a particular area, richer people will likely compensate more easily for this absence. For example, high-income women will likely more likely use private transport means than public transports, and instead of sending their children to a public day care centre, they will hire a nanny or pay for a private day care centre. These considerations point to the importance of financial affordability and good strategic foresight, including on the matter of land uses. For example, if the investment plans of a municipality do not pay due attention to perspective care needs, it will be difficult to increase those services and the supporting infrastructure in a way capable of matching demand conditions.

Access to affordable and quality formal or informal childcare is a key factor in supporting the participation of women in the labour market (Mateo Díaz and Rodriguez-Chamussy, 2016[64]). In addition, it is important that school times are designed to match working times. In Colombia, only 30% of children under the age of three attends early childhood care (Figure 1.15). However, 70% of pre‑school children aged three to five years enrol in early childhood education and care. Although these rates are higher than in other Latin American countries, they are below the OECD average. Those children who cannot attend a community home, kindergarten, child development centre or school, stay with their mother or father in the home or receive the care of a relative or other adult. Attendance varies significantly across departments and is significantly below the national average in households where the head of household has indigenous, or afro-Colombian ethnicity.

Figure 1.15. One in three pre‑school children are not in early childhood education

In Colombia, as in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the family, especially women, are primarily responsible for providing unpaid support to older adults (Flórez, Martínez and Aranco, 2019[65]). In perspective, the assistance that the older people in Colombia will need to perform day-to-day will likely increase further, reflecting population ageing. Households with only elderly people, and those with two or more members in need for care, will be the most vulnerable. However, the growing participation of women in the labour market will tend to shrink the time that they can devote to these activities. In addition, the decline in fertility and the fragmentation of housing into smaller residential entities – reflecting the growth of single‑parent households in urban centres – will increasingly limit the capacity of the family to provide unpaid support services. These contrasting patterns suggest that increasing coverage and quality of care of the elderly will be at the forefront of the policy agenda.

Long and onerous commutes negatively affect the economic opportunities and well-being of men and women alike. However, transport needs of women and men may differ. Across many countries, men tend to spend more time commuting to and from work. Women, instead, frequently make short or multi-stop trips – for example, to drop children at school before work and to stop by the market on the way home from work. They are more likely to walk and to take public transport and less likely to drive (Duchene, 2011[66]; Lecompte and Juan Pablo, 2017[67]). Recent analysis finds evidence of a strong gender gap in transport accessibility in Bogota, which particularly penalises women who live in low-income areas in the outskirts (Moscoso et al., 2020[68]).

Even if transport options are available, women may be reluctant to take them if they are afraid of being a victim of robbery, sexual harassment or otherwise attacked. In a 2014 survey of 15 of the 20 largest capitals around the world, women in the Latin American cities (particularly Bogota, followed by Mexico City and Lima) felt the most unsafe (Boros, 2014[69]). With perceived safety conditions affecting transport choices, women often report that they prefer to use minibuses than other public transport, even though they are more expensive and slower compared to the metro. The stated reason is that they have their seat in the minibus, which makes them feel safer from harassment. Women who take the bus often wait for less crowded ones. A lack of security also arises from having to walk on poorly maintained and badly lit sidewalks and having to wait for a long time at bus stops in isolated locations (Dominguez Gonzalez et al., 2020[70]).

Finally, the amount of work required for maintaining a household in good condition and hours available for other activities also depends on sanitation conditions, especially the provision of clean drinking water and adequate sewage disposal. In addition, the access to electricity and labour-saving technologies, e.g. appliances, such as a washing machine, massively reduce the physical and time effort needed to wash clothes, clean the home and cook. The timesaving effects of household appliances is so important that some economists believe that they have changed the world more than the internet (Chang, 2012[71]). In Colombia, as of 2019, virtually all households had access to electricity, with nearly no difference between rural and urban areas (World Bank, 2019[72]). However, access to electricity does not necessarily translate into widespread ownership of labour-saving appliances, especially by low-income households.

Gender based violence

Gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls represents a global issue. Worldwide, nearly one‑third of women experience physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime (WHO, 2021[73]). This violence is endemic to all regions of the world, including the most economically advanced.

GBV is a complex phenomenon that exists in many different forms and may be experienced within family and intimate relationships, in public spaces and workplaces, and online (OECD, 2021[74]). Acts of GBV are usually part of a pattern that can affect all aspects of survivors/victims’ lives. This includes their access to education, employment, housing, healthcare and justice, as well as their physical and mental well-being and health. When survivors/victims have children, such impacts extend to them. Moreover, GBV has economic ramifications for survivors/victims, their families and societies as a whole. Studies focused primarily on intimate partner violence estimate such violence typically costs countries between 1‑2% of their annual gross domestic product (OECD, 2021[74]).

Stereotypes, discrimination, and socio‑economic conditions have a direct impact on violence against women in Colombia (OECD, 2020[75]). This violence takes various forms: against women in the family (domestic violence, marital rape), in the community (sexual violence, trafficking, feminicide), and with respect to women’s reproductive rights. According to the Gender Equality Observatory, regularly published by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), using figures provided by governments on feminicides, Colombia registered 182 cases of feminicides in 2020, the year of the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic (ECLAC, 2021[76]). Although, this corresponds to a decline of 47 cases from the previous year, press articles and issue briefs suggest that the impact of COVID‑19 has been severe in Colombia with the country experiencing a significant increase in emergency calls to report domestic violence incidents (Ortega Pacheco and Martínez Rudas, 2021[77]).

Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict significantly undermined the security of women and girls, particularly internally displaced women. Displaced women and women living in conflict-affected communities face exacerbated vulnerabilities and risk factors for IPV (Keating, Treves-Kagan and Buller, 2021[78]; Stark and Ager, 2011[79]). Trauma, poverty, changing gender roles, and the general stress of violence and displacement bolster existing levels of IPV and prevent women from accessing help. Indigenous and Afro-Colombia women were disproportionately victims of sexual violence and internal displacement during the armed conflict. Specifically, 51.6% indigenous women and 40.7% of Afro-Colombian women declared themselves to be victims of the conflict. Of these, 59% of the indigenous women and 62.7% of the Afro-Colombian women were displaced (Defensoria del Pueblo, 2019[80]).

Reports indicate that indigenous and Afro-Colombian women still experience multiple forms of discrimination despite the fact that the Final Peace Agreement includes gender-responsive provisions for indigenous women within the peace process. The World Bank reports that women living in rural areas where armed conflicts persist are even withdrawing from the peace process or moving away entirely for their own safety (World Bank Group, 2019[11]).

The outbreak of the regional refugee crisis and the intensification of displacement flows from neighbouring Venezuela has brought additional challenges, notably related to the long-term marginalisation of refugee women and how this contributes to their victimisation. Given the lack of legal documentation underpinning their marginal status, women migrants are at an increased risk for social, economic and physical insecurity. Recent research analysis reveals the main mechanisms by which displacement can influence the social and economic realities of migrant women: Lack of legal residence and documentation; violence experienced along the life course, with migration increasing the risk for later re‑victimisation, social isolation, including loss of support networks and restricted mobility, and financial stress. (Keating, Treves-Kagan and Buller, 2021[78]).

References

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