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LATIN AMERICA: Big Gender, Ethnic Gaps in
Wages Found
By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON (IPS) - Indigenous people,
descendants of Africans, and women in Latin
America earn significantly less money than
their predominantly white male peers of
similar age and education levels, according
to a new study released here Monday by the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The gaps tend to be more pronounced in
private sector jobs, according to the
76-page study, which was based on a major
review of household survey data from 18
nations throughout the region over the past
15 years.
Entitled "New Century, Old Disparities", the
report, an IDB "Working Paper," found that
women with the same age and education
achievement on average earn 17 percent less
than their male counterparts.
For minorities – defined as people who
described themselves in household surveys as
indigenous, black or brown, or speakers of
an indigenous language – the gap was even
greater: an average of 28 percent.
"Policies aimed at reducing these
inequalities are still lacking," said Hugo
Nopo, the study's lead author and an IDB
economist. "This is more than just a moral
necessity. It is an essential strategy to
reduce poverty in the region."
The study compared wages among individuals
with the same demographic and job-related
characteristics – including age, level of
education, place of residence, and type of
employment.
In addition to Bolivia and Brazil, the
country studies included Argentina, Chile,
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela,
and the five Spanish-speaking countries of
Central America.
The study used a new methodology designed to
better measure the role of individual
characteristics and experience in explaining
wage gaps than previous studies in an effort
to isolate specific factors that may
contribute to the disparities.
Nopo claimed that previous methodologies
"tended to exaggerate the role of
discrimination and other non-specified
characteristics in explaining wage
differentials". On average, a fifth of the
total gender wage gap cannot be explained on
the differences in observable individual or
job characteristics.
On gender wage gaps, the study found that
men earn more than women at any age, for
each level of education, in both large and
small enterprises, and regardless of whether
they were self-employed, employees, or
employers themselves.
The only exception was found in rural areas,
where females tend to earn on average the
same as their male peers.
The gender gap varied widely among
countries. Men were found to earn 30 percent
more than comparably aged and educated women
in Brazil and 26 percent in Uruguay. In
Bolivia and Guatemala, on the other hand,
the differences were negligible.
The smallest gender wage gap was found among
younger people with a university degree, a
finding that may be explained by the
tendency of more educated women to find
positions in larger companies where managers
enjoy less discretion in setting wages.
Indeed, gaps were found to be lower among
workers employed in the formal economy and
higher among those working in small
companies or in the informal economy.
The biggest gaps were found among
lower-income workers who did not finish high
school and were living in rural areas.
The survey also found that gender age gaps
increase with age, a tendency that could be
explained at least in part by the caretaking
role assumed by women who have children,
according to Nopo, who noted that women are
more likely to be forced out of the labour
market after childbirth.
"Policies allowing them to return to work,
such as a better supply of child care
services, can contribute to reduce wage
differentials," he said.
On ethnic wage gaps, the study covered only
seven of the 18 countries because they were
the only ones where the household surveys
obtained ethnic information. The seven
included Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru.
On average, non-minorities earned nearly 40
percent more than the indigenous populations
- who constitute demographic majorities in
several of the countries - and Afro-Latinos.
But, when age, gender, and level of
education were taken into account, the gap
fell to 28 percent.
The largest gaps were found in Brazil (30
percent); Guatemala (24 percent), and
Paraguay (22 percent). The smallest gaps
were found in Ecuador (four percent) and
Chile (11 percent).
The biggest ethnic gaps were also found
among those at the extremes of income
distribution: those earning the highest and
lowest wages. It also found the biggest gaps
among males, older workers, and rural
dwellers.
By isolating specific factors that may have
contributed to the gaps, the study found
that about one half of the wage gap between
whites and minorities could be explained by
educational level and a combination of other
individual and job characteristics fulfilled
by whites but not by minorities.
"Ethnic wage gaps are linked to occupational
segregation, as minorities are
under-represented in employer occupations,
where wages are higher," according to Nopo.
"As in gender gaps, it is difficult to find
minorities, for example, employed with the
typical profile of a CEO."
While social and development policies have
encouraged expanded enrolment and keeping
children in school, the findings raised
questions about both the quality and
relevance of education indigenous
populations were receiving, the report
suggested.
"The poor quality of education could help
explain why poor minorities get a lower
return on their schooling," Nopo said.
In addition to expanding childcare
facilities, the study suggested the adoption
of other policies that could help minorities
overcome existing obstacles, including
greater investments in public education and
affirmative-action education and
job-training programmes for minorities.
The study also called for special attention
to be given to indigenous girls, who face
discrimination both as females and as
members of minority groups.
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