The Challenge of Being a Woman in the Labor Market

This article does not reflect the opinions of the FeminUN student group, but of it respective author.

“Through work is how the woman has been able to cross the distance that separates them from men. Work is the only thing that can guarantee her complete freedom.”

Simone de Beauvoir

We live in the twenty-first century, the century of the technological revolution and social advances, as it has been told. But how true is this? It can’t be denied that lately, technology advanced has improved world growth, however, in terms of social advantages there is still a lot to be done. Currently, we can find different types of problems that shows that progress and changes have been low. Inequality, discrimination, and violence are just some examples of problems that create more relevant situations in different sectors of society, like in the labor market.

The labor market around the world has been historically influenced by multiple factors that go from gender discrimination to the lack of quality and security in jobs. According to the OIT (2021), 56,8 % of women are unemployed, in contrast to 31,4% of men that are unemployed. There is a gender gap of 25% that clearly should not exist. The same organization shows that, unlike men, there is a low opportunity for women to get into formal work, then when they get to be employed it is often in vulnerable sectors, where stability and security are hardly guaranteed.

It is frustrating to hear that this type of situation still happens in our daily life and even more when our economy depends on the labor market. The gender gap is one of the main reasons why many countries in the world cannot grow. To this, Gallup & OIT (2021) says that this is influenced by circumstances like where the country is located, the ideology that prevails there, and the culture that they share about work. The research also shows that regardless of those conditions on average 70% of women want to get a paid job. But what are those situations that affect the change of women to get a job?

Looking for the root of this problem, it was found that stereotypes are one of the elements that most influence the decisions that women make and the company decisions as well when hiring them. The general idea about how women's behavior should be in those two areas is very marked. In Colombia, it is common for girls to be told comments such as: “you shouldn’t play with cars” “aren’t you going to get your hair and make-up done to hang out?” or “you should learn to cook so when you grow up you can take well care of your husband”. Although these are some of the most common comments, many others tend to exert pressure on women, leading them to make decisions following the standards consciously or unconsciously, that society has imposed on them, even if they do not agree with them.

This is reflected in research such as DANE (2021), which showed that 1.5 million women in Colombia left their jobs to start dedicated to household chores when the pandemic started in March 2020, until July of the same year. These are alarming figures, since, in just 4 months, a considerable part of the female population stopped having their income, stopped being active in the labor market, and started dependent on someone else. This research also draws the conclusion that this phenomenon occurred so staggered because most Colombians still think that "women are better for household chores".

On other hand, about the role of the companies, the picture is pretty much the same. The vacancy profiles developed by companies are based on general ideas and beliefs about the behaviors of both genders. According to AGORA (2017) women emphasize organizing or maintaining order while men start projects and lead activities. Setting these differences had limited and closed the field of action for both genders. The pay gap, since there is no equal pay, means that women earn only 77% of the salary that men earn working in the same position. This is influenced by education since both genders do not grow up with the same training and aptitudes; in addition, the situation of many women that must interrupt their working hours to lead the households or because of necessity. This last situation can also make it hard for women to continue with their full-time jobs and make them switch to part-time jobs. This shows that the difference in the labor market not only occurs at that time but also occurs during the growing and training process of both genders.

Finally, it is evident how little progress the labor market has had due to social, economic, and ideological circumstances, and although the years have gone by, actions have not been taken and consistent guidelines to prevent it from keep growing neither. According to the ONU, if policies are not taken soon, changes in the countries will not be evident until 54 years from now. On other hand, the female gender is still oppressed by social stereotypes that do not allow them to have guarantees and equality in the labor market. It is time to change job stereotypes, provide new opportunities for the oppressed gender, and let women grow as they want.

Written by Sofìa Daza Pallares.

Translated by Valerie Julieh Cadena Rodriguez.

References

AGORA. (19 de Febrero de 2019). El gran problema del empleo en el mundo: las malas condiciones

de trabajo. AGORA .Inteligencia Colectiva para la Sostenibilidad:

https://www.agorarsc.org/el-gran-problema-del-empleo-en-el-mundo-las-malas-condiciones-de-

trabajo/

DANE (2022). Mercado Laboral según Sexo ,

https://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/boletines/ech/ech_genero/boletin_GEIH_sexo_may22_

jul22.pdf

OIT(2016) &GALLUP (2021)La igualdad de remuneración como solución a la discriminación basadaen sexo.

Portafolio (2017) ¿Para cuáles trabajos son mejores los hombres y para cuáles las mujeres?.

https://www.portafolio.co/economia/empleo/mujeres-son-menos-contratadas-en-colombia-508268

Urquidi, M., Durand, G., & Cruz Aguayo, Y. (23 de Marzo de 2022). Ser mujer en el mundo del

trabajo: cómo los servicios de empleo pueden mejorar el acceso a trabajos de calidad. BID -Factor

Trabajo: https://blogs.iadb.org/trabajo/es/ser-mujer-en-el-mundo-del-trabajo/