Gender inequality in the labor market is greater than previously thought, says ILO

The ILO said it had developed a new indicator that better measures the unemployment rate and detects all jobless people looking for some activity.

This projects “a much bleaker picture of the situation of women in the world of work than the more commonly used unemployment rate”, this UN agency said in a statement, two days before International Women's Day.

“The new data shows that women continue to have much more difficulty finding work than men,” said the agency.

According to ILO data, 15% of working age women in the world likeariam to have a job, but they don't, compared to 10,5% of men.

“This gender inequality has remained largely unchanged for two decades,” the organization noted.

In contrast, official unemployment rates for men and women are very similar.

This is due, according to the ILO, to the fact that the criteria used to determine whether someone should be considered officially unemployed tend to disproportionately exclude women.

According to the report, the Personal and family responsibilities, including unpaid care work, disproportionately affect women.

This type of activity prevents women from working, actively seeking employment, or being available at short notice.

“The (gender) labor gap is especially serious in developing countries, where the proportion of women who cannot find a job reaches 24,9% in low-income countries,” the agency said.

Access to employment is not the only problem. The ILO noted that women tend to be overrepresented in some vulnerable jobs, including in family businesses.

“This vulnerability, along with lower employment rates, impacts women’s incomes,” the agency said.

The ILO concluded that “globally, for every dollar of labor income earned by men, women earn just 51 cents.”

(With AFP)

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