Paris (EFE) an integrated approach to gender equality must be adopted in all policies.
In a report on this issue published this Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates the economic potential offered by equality policies in the labor field for each of its member countries.
The potential for Spain is somewhat below the OECD average, in which an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant of 9.2% could be achieved by 2060, but it is higher than that of France, the United States or of most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
In Spain, the simultaneous reduction of the differences between men and women in the activity rate and working time could offer an increase in GDP per inhabitant of 0.21 percentage points each year, compared to 0.23 on average.
This is much less than the 0.52 points for Mexico, the 0.48 for Costa Rica, the 0.43 for Turkey or the 0.41 for Colombia, which are the members with the greatest room for improvement. because they are also the ones with the biggest gaps currently.
At the opposite extreme, in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia the progression would be limited to 0.06-0.08 percentage points each year.
In the case of Spain, women in 2021 worked 5 hours less per week in paid employment than men in 2021, a difference that has been reduced compared to 6 hours in 2010.
This is a less pronounced split than in the OECD as a whole, where women worked 5.3 hours less than men each week in 2021 and 6.5 hours in 2010.
Without gender inequality, wealth per capita would increase by 9.2% in the OECD in 2060
Equating the contribution of women to that of men in the labor market, eliminating the gender gap, would increase the wealth created per inhabitant by 9.2% in the OECD by 2060.
In a report on gender inequality published this Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calculates that simultaneously reducing the differences in the activity rate and working time could increase gross domestic product (GDP). by 0.23 percentage points per year on average.
The differences in potential growth among the 38 member countries are very notable and depend above all on the starting situation. In other words, those with the greatest margin for progression are those in which the gender gap in the labor market is greatest, starting with Mexico, Costa Rica, Turkey and Colombia.
Canceling the gap in the activity rate and in the working time that exists between men and women in Mexico would allow it to increase annual production by 0.52 percentage points, which would give 22% more GDP per capita in 2060.
The increase would be 0.48 annual points for Costa Rica, 0.43 for Turkey and 0.41 for Colombia, which would translate into increases of between 17% and 20% for these three countries in 40 years.
The improvement in per capita wealth would also be significant in Chile (around 9.5% on the 2060 horizon) and somewhat less in Spain (around 8%).
The countries with the least potential would be Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania, with an annual progression that is estimated to be between 0.06 and 0.08 percentage points, and an increase in GDP per inhabitant of 2-3% by 2060.
Fewer hours of paid work
The authors of the report confirm that gender inequalities persist in all aspects of social and economic life and that, for example, “women continue to dedicate a disproportionate part of their time to unpaid family and domestic tasks, which compromises their presence in the labor market, especially when they have children”.
The direct consequence is that they dedicate on average 5.3 hours less to paid work in the OECD than men, with data from 2021, and this although this difference has been reduced in recent years (it was 6.5 hours in 2010).
The OECD explains that, beyond a weaker employment rate and less paid work time, women suffer “strong segregation” in the labor market and a series of “glass ceilings” that translate into less remuneration during the active life, but also once retirement arrives.
Remember that in the field of education, things have evolved a lot in recent years, so that in the group of people aged 25 to 34, 53% of women had a university degree in 2021, compared to 41% Men’s.
But women are less likely to study engineering, mathematics or computer science and go more to commerce, the Administration, health and social action. And in the end they end up working in highly feminized sectors that offer lower salaries.
Little progress in management positions
Quotas for the boards of publicly traded companies that have been imposed in many countries have helped the percentage of women rise from 21% in 2016 to 28% in 2021. Progression has been slower in positions management, which in the same period have gone from 31.1% to 33.7%.
The authors of the report warn that the coronavirus has advanced some advances for women, in terms of equality, particularly with regard to gender-based violence.
In addition, women were the ones who most assumed the increase in unpaid family and domestic care tasks during the periods of confinement.
They also point out that with the current problems of inflation and reduced purchasing power, policies have to take into account the specific situation of women, who are more exposed to being penalized for consequences such as energy precariousness due to the gap income and savings.