Gender and ethnic inequalities in LAC countries

Carla Canelas,Silvia Salazar

doi:10.1186/2193-9020-3-18

Abstract

This article examines the structure of gender and ethnic wage gaps and the distribution of both paid and unpaid work in LAC countries. Its main contribution is to expose the double discrimination endured by women in the region. Indeed, the results indicate that women are highly discriminated in the job market and undertake most of the domestic activities in the household, allocating in average 40 hours per week to paid market activities and another 40 hours to in-home unpaid activities. The indigenous population also suffers from discrimination, but the wage gap is mainly explained by the difference in endowments, highlighting their limited access to education and their concentration in rural areas. The wage quantile decomposition results suggest the presence of sticky floor effects for both women and indigenous workers. J22; J31; J71

Highlights

Two important factors are generally associated with gender and ethnic discrimination in Latin America: the low level of human capital and the strength of social norms
The results suggest that ethnic disparities are more clearly reflected in wage differences on the labor market, while gender disparities can be found in both the labor market and the allocation of time to domestic activities within the household
After decomposing labor earning differences, we found that in the three countries, indigenous workers are paid less than non-indigenous workers and that nearly half of the wage gap is explained by differences in human capital endowments

Summary

Introduction

Two important factors are generally associated with gender and ethnic discrimination in Latin America: the low level of human capital and the strength of social norms. The first one is usually captured by educational attainment and years of work experience. In Latin America, the average years of schooling is 8 which is relatively low compared to Europe and more advanced countries. Needless to say that ethnic minorities are the most disadvantaged in this respect. Concentrated mainly in rural areas their access to education and health services is precarious and limited. Indigenous workers are mostly found in low-productivity activities either in the agricultural, manufacturing, and construction sectors or in domestic service

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