Unemployment and job insecurity have a woman’s face

Economic data are one of the many bridges to understand gender gaps in Peru. From the serve, not only is there a lower participation of the women in the employed population, but they are also the most immersed in underemployment. 55% of the female workforce does not work a full weekly working day and/or earns less than the average (underemployment); that is, 5 out of 10 workers. On the men’s side, the underemployed rate is 37.8% (see graphs). On the other side of the coin, 57% of men have an adequate job—with all the legal requirements; Among women, only 37.8% have it.

Machismo: the sociocultural defect

Natalia Manso, professor at the UP Graduate School, assures that there are several factors behind inequality. A starting point is cultural training and its relationship with indicators of gender violence, which costs the country 3.7% of GDP.

“How is a woman going to get out of a situation of violence if she does not have economic independence? It’s complicated. So, they go hand in hand. Female economic empowerment is closely linked to fighting violence,” she explains.

For Manso, another evil is the normalized machismo in the selection processes. He remembers that it is illegal to ask a woman, when applying for a employmentif you have children or if you plan to have them.

If at this point you are wondering “but if women earn less, why don’t companies hire more women?”, Manso points out that The sectors that concentrate more women are those that give smaller salaries; and in the most juicy sectors, such as mining, they barely achieve a representation of 10% of the workforce. In construction, the rate is 0.8%.

Behind the gaps

According to the INEI, the average income of women is S/1,405 per month, and that of men, S/1,873. The gender gap in income is S/468.4. In the age group of 14 to 24 years, Peruvian women register an average of S/999.6, while men receive S/1,240.

Regarding informal employment, 73% of women work in activities that are not subject to the law, and do not have access to social protection or the benefits of a regulated employment relationship; while men are the least affected, with a rate of 69.3%. In it unemployment, the rate is higher for Peruvian women (6.4%), compared to 4.2% for men. That is, 6 out of 10 women are unemployed, compared to 4 out of 10 men.

No to gender roles…

Yoselyn Granados, a native of Huamarín (Huaraz, Áncash), began her working life in the capital as a bus and van fare collector. Her familiarization with the automotive industry and her good grades gave her access to a scholarship at the Eliazar Guzmán Barón Institute. After completing her professional training, she applied to Komatsu-Mitsui Maquinarias Perú and now she is one of the members of the first female delegation that assembles mining trucks for Antamina.

“Nothing ventured nothing gained. Life is one and we have no other opportunity to do what we are passionate about. I don’t bother with those who doubt my ability, I show them with my work that I can too,” says Granados, who thanked her mother, Basilia Silvestre Huamán, and her older sister Edita Lucila for supporting her since her arrival into this world.

Maria Julia Aybar, country manager of Hunt Oil, member of the Camisea Consortium, has been interested in the hydrocarbon sector since her youth when she was practicing in a law firm. Her applied nature of learning led her to delve into the field. Today, she is recognized as one of the most relevant leaders of natural gas in Latin America.

Aybar—who also chairs the Hydrocarbon Sector Committee of the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy—believes that Gender gaps arise in homes with the assignment of roles, when in practice, a woman can be whatever she wants to be. “As we educate boys and girls with that message, in the coming generations there will be a more equitable natural environment,” she commented.

…And more opportunities

Ana María Farfán, prosecutor of the Paruro Women’s Organization (Paruro, Cusco), representing the more than 900 women who in the imperial province are mostly dedicated to agriculture, questions that the financing programs – the majority , via Agrorural—ask interested parties to present property title knowing that the majority of the lands are communal. In other cases, single mothers—like her—are required to have a male guarantee to be able to finance themselves.

Let us remember that, in official data, only 3 out of 10 own their land. Midagri adds that a woman drives an average of 1.8 hectares, compared to 3.0 hectares for men. Only 22% belong to an organization and they have a ratio of 4.7 head of cattle.

“I was able to receive S/4,000, but other colleagues could not. Given the need after the pandemic and droughts, we had to undertake. I started selling my parboiled corn with cheese in the markets. “Now I work with corn, potatoes and wheat on my hectare,” says Farfán, who managed, despite being the sole breadwinner in his home as he did not have the support of his daughters’ father, to give them education and see them now become professionals.

Don’t forget the women of agriculture

Approach. Yeni Vásquez, Grade researcher

Already there are around four years of continuous crises that live in the agricultural sector. First, Covid-19; then, the lack of fertilizers; and then, the climate. Let us remember that, in the sector, 33% are agricultural producers. Furthermore, family farming accounts for more than 97% of agricultural units, and there women make up 34%, according to the National Agrarian Survey (ENA).

So, it is a large percentage of women who are affected by cumulative crises. Not even two out of every 100 women producers have access to training and technical assistance. These variables are key to having better productivity rates and markets. Is there a structural failure? In fact, very little has been done. There are some initiatives such as in 2021, when the small directorate for women agricultural producers was created or the one for the empowerment of rural women and indigenous, whose budget has been cut and will depend on Midagri himself. It will depend a lot on political will.

Another factor is the machismo that has not allowed them to become more involved in leadership activities and community participation. There are few women in organizations, whether the smallest or largest.

Given the decapitalization, the gaps in accessing financing are more pronounced for the women. They ask you for a title, and whose name is most of it? Of the men, be it the husband, father or eldest son. With these crises, there is less and less to replant.

Reactions

Ana María Farfán, Prosecutor of the Org. of Rural Women of Paruro

“We brought together more than 900 women in Cusco. 90% work in agriculture. We lack access to credit. We are widows or single mothers, but they ask us for titles or for a responsible man.”

María Julia Aybar, Country Manager of Hunt Oil

“In all my experience (in hydrocarbons) I have seen few women. Making an effort and training is what has allowed me to stay in the sector regardless of my gender.”

40% of agricultural women without pay

Peruvians without their own income are those who work in unpaid activities. Manso notes that, a decade ago, the rate in urban areas was 27.5% of women without income and that of men, only 11.4%. In the rural sector, 40.8% of women, as of 2022, do not have their own income, compared to 13.8% of men. “They work from dawn to dusk outside and inside the house. “Women in agriculture get up very early,” he says.

In his opinion, until there is a more equitable distribution of the thousands of hours that families dedicate to keeping their homes going, It will be difficult for women to compete on equal terms due to this overload of hours.a not so heavy burden for the bulk of male talent.