Gender salary gap exceeds 36% in Peru, according to INEI

One of the most important and historical dates of March is International Women’s Day. Through this commemoration, Peruvians and Peruvians aware of the barriers faced by women to access better labor, educational and economic resources opportunities.

According to the latest quarterly report of the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), the average monthly income of men was S/2,419.5, while that of women amounted to S/1,773. In this way, a difference of S/646.3 is evidenced, which means a 36% gap with respect to the female salary.

In the opinion of the researcher and labor specialist Alejandra Dinegro, women continue to win below what men receive, which responds to the type of employment to which they are already dedicated to the roles of care they exercise. And it is that according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 67% of the people who are dedicated to this work do not receive any remuneration, despite the fact that their economic contribution is equivalent to 23% of GDP.

“Women are at a disadvantage in terms of salary income against men. But, in addition, the studies indicate that there is a pattern that is repeated: young women who are not mothers get 16% more than those working women who are moms. Similarly, this salary gap increases by 5% as the woman has more children, ”said Dinegro.

The salary gap in health grows

According to the study “Gender Perspective in the Working World” by Bumeran, the salary gap reached its highest level in December 2023, since men required remuneration by 18.27% higher than women. However, this figure was reduced to 7.96% in the same month of the following year. On the other hand, in January of this 2025, this indicator was 9.86%.

A fact that attracts attention is that Health and medicine They have the biggest difference with 57%, which means that women earn less than half of what men charge in this sector. For Dinnegro, they are overrepresented in poorly paid sectors and that are linked to nursing and child care, while men have a greater presence in transport, mechanics, among others.

Bumeran also revealed that production and manufacturing (37%), engineering (36%), legal (34%), civil engineering and construction (32%) are other sectors that show notable inequalities.

” The study shows a clear gender inequality in participation in the applications and salaries required, with a greater male presence in leadership roles and a significant salary gap at all levels, more marked in headquarters. There is a pronounced reduction in the wage gap, which went from 16.94% in January 2024 to 9.86% in January 2025, indicating an advance, although important differences still persist, ”he said Miguel Bechara, commercial director of this entity.

Proposals to reduce gender gaps

Women’s employment rates continue to be located below those of men. In our country, the Permanent National Employment Survey (EPEN) He revealed that in 2023, of the total number of people aged 14 and over who have work, 44.4% are women and 55.6% are men.

To the current rhythm of progress worldwide with only 46.4% of women of working age employed in 2024 compared to 69.5% of men, reaching equality would take almost two centuries, estimates the ILO.

For the economist Tamia washing, policies are needed that strengthen training with a gender approach, mechanisms that improve job supervision, make domestic work visible advancing to a national care system and promote laws that balance family responsibilities with those of work.

“Despite having instruments that speak of economic autonomy, if care is not taken into account, much is going to advance. The laws are needed to strengthen and follow up on compliance. In addition, the MINEDU should have an inclusive curriculum and it is essential to revalue the domestic work unpaid in our country,” he emphasized.