ECLAC highlights the need to promote women’s full participation in business for a transformative recovery

We are in a moment of cascading crisis. Latin America and the Caribbean is facing what ECLAC calls a development crisis, which poses additional challenges to overcome the structural challenges of gender inequality in the region. Currently, 1 out of 2 women is out of the labor market, while in the case of men this figure represents 1 out of 4. If we look at the business sector, on the one hand, women are overrepresented in small and medium-sized companies that were severely impacted during the pandemic. On the other hand, when analyzing large companies there is still an underrepresentation of women, mainly in senior positions.

This was one of the reflections shared by Nicole Bidegain Ponte, Social Affairs Officer of ECLAC Division for Gender Affairs, in her presentation at the roundtable regarding the context of business women and entrepreneurs in Latin America. The event, organized by the Embassies of Mexico in Chile and Chile in Mexico, was also attended by the Ambassador of Mexico in Chile and former Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra and the Ambassador of Chile in Mexico, Beatriz Sánchez Muñoz, Gabriela Rosero Moncayo of UN Women in Chile, Luz Vidal Huiriqueo, Undersecretary for Women and Gender Equality of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality of Chile (by video), Nadine Flora Gasman Zylbermann, President of the National Women’s Institute (INMUJERES) of Mexico (by video) and businesswomen from both countries.

The Social Affairs Officer of ECLAC’s Division for Gender Affairs stressed that women entrepreneurs face significant barriers as a result of the structural challenges of gender inequality and these barriers become even more evident when they seek to internationalize their companies. Among these barriers are the lack of access to financing, technology and information networks, the low presence of women in business rounds and trade missions, the digital gender gap and the overload of unpaid work and care.

Bidegain Ponte pointed out that the region is at risk of facing another lost decade, not only in terms of growth, but also of achieving sustainable development with equality and sustainability. However, Latin America and the Caribbean have the potential to transform this difficult juncture into new opportunities that promote women’s full participation in enterprises for a transformative recovery, such as cross-border digital trade and the reconfiguration of global value chains to make them shorter and more resilient. This is an opportunity for the women’s participation in productive linkages that strengthen regional integration and diversification of the productive and trade structure.

More information:

See the broadcast of the event on Facebook (available in Spanish).