IV. THE MALE AND FEMALE LABOUR MARKETS
3. Differences in wages and incomes
Table 16
INCOME a DISPARITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN URBAN AREAS, 1992
Total 0-3 years 4-6 years 7-9 years 10-12 years 13 years and over Argentina
Bolivia Brazil (1990) Chile Colombia Costa Rica Honduras Mexico Panama (1991) Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela
63 53 55 66 69 72 64 55 80 65 57 69
63 59 45 68 69 59 57 - 45 67 44 59
- 52 45 68 65 56 62 52 55 65 51 58
61 60 50 68 72 59 63 66 67 70 55 66
51 66 49 73 68 69 71 63 80 68 58 64
- 50 49 50 63 72 62 47 72 70 42 71 Source: ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America. 1995 Edition (LC/G.1886-P), Santiago, Chile, 1995.
United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.II.G.17, on the basis of special tabulations carried out from household surveys.
a Difference between the total incomes of the population in work, expressed as the percentage ratio between the average female income and the average male income.
Table 17
WAGE DISPARITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN URBAN AREAS, 1992a
Total 0-3 years 4-6 years 7-9 years 10-12 years 13 years and over Argentinabc
Bolivia Brazil (1990) Chile Colombia Costa Rica Honduras Mexico c Panama d Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela
73 62 65 69 82 81 76 72 80 77 61 73
- 46 55 72 87 59 60 - 45 74 45 63
- 36 51 69 85 67 68 70 52 78 51 62
- 49 57 66 83 69 73 80 66 66 58 72
- 71 54 74 82 77 79 79 78 78 63 74
- 58 51 53 69 76 64 61 76 60 48 73 Source: ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America. 1995 Edition (LC/G.1886-P), Santiago, Chile, 1995.
United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.II.G.17, on the basis of special tabulations carried out from household surveys.
a The wage disparity consists in the differences between the earnings deriving from the wages of men and women, expressed as the percentage ratio between the average female wage and the average male wage.
b In Argentina the educational categories are: 0-6 years, 7-9 years and 10 years or more.
c In Mexico the educational categories are 0-5 years, 6-9 years and 13 years or more [sic].
d 1991.
Table 18
INCOME DISPARITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN BY AGE GROUP IN URBAN AREAS, 1992a
Total 15-24
years 25-34
years 35-44
years 45-54
years 55 years or more Argentina
Bolivia Brazil (1990) Chile Colombia Costa Rica Honduras Mexico Panama Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela
63 53 55 66 69 72 64 55 80 65 57 69
65 63 73 86 95 88 78 83 76 66 75 83
67 63 64 77 75 76 72 65 90 72 63 77
55 45 54 59 67 70 66 61 83 66 55 66
61 60 46 68 58 62 53 34 73 69 52 60
64 41 35 52 59 48 42 32 74 57 45 55 Source: ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America. 1995 Edition (LC/G.1886-P), Santiago,
Chile, 1995. United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.II.G.17, on the basis of special tabulations carried out from household surveys.
a The wage [sic] disparity consists in the differences between the total incomes of the working population, expressed as the percentage ratio between the average female income and the average male income.
Table 19
WAGE DISPARITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN BY AGE GROUP IN URBAN AREAS, 1992a
Total 15-24
years 25-34
years 35-44
years 45-54
years 55 years or more Argentina
Bolivia Brazil (1990) Chile
Colombia Costa Rica Honduras Mexico Panama Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela
73 62 65 69 82 81 76 72 80 77 61 73
94 65 77 87 103
92 83 89 71 87 77 85
70 77 72 79 90 85 78 80 89 82 66 79
64 59 63 63 76 78 82 70 86 68 59 65
73 69 56 56 69 71a 62 64 74 66 55 60
71 47 51 51 74 59 66 56 67 77 49 57 Source: ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America. 1995 Edition (LC/G.1886-P), Santiago, Chile, 1995.
United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.II.G.17, on the basis of special tabulations carried out from household surveys.
a The wage disparity is the difference between the incomes that men and women obtain from their wages, expressed as the percentage ratio between the average female wage and the average male wage.
Box 3
WAGE DIFFERENCES IN PARAGUAY
In the National Report on Paraguay prepared for the Regional Conference in Preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women, the problem of wage discrimination in that country is analysed.
The most important source of statistics, and perhaps the only one that gives a relatively accurate picture of economic disparities, is the household survey.1This reveals the differences between average male and female incomes by type of activity and economic sector. Analysis of this source shows that the remuneration of women is lower than that of men, even when they are doing the same job. The basis used for this analysis was the Metropolitan Area of Asuncion.2
Although the average income of women increased as a percentage of that of men, the discrimination referred to continued. While in the years 1983-1986 women earned only 52.5% of what men received, this ratio increased to 62.5% in the first half of the decade. Female labourers and workers earned almost the same as men did (96.0%), while female clerical employees earned 85% as much as men did. Professionals, technical staff and the like received just over half (54%) and those working in farming, stock breeding and the like got just over 2/3 (69%). The women who earned least by comparison with the male sex were transport drivers, an occupation which does not include many women. In the personal services sector, earnings were also low (52%) by comparison with the male sex.
PARAGUAY: AVERAGE FEMALE INCOME AS A PERCENTAGE OF MALE INCOME BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUP, METROPOLITAN AREA
(Percentages)
Average 1983 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1983-
1986 1990- 1994 Professionals, technicians and
the like
Managers, administrators, etc.
Clerical employees Traders, sales staff and the like
Farmers, stock-breeders and the like
Transport drivers Artisans and operators Workers and labourers Professional services Others
Total
52.2 50.566.8
56.1
… 37.9 47.047.5 59.0 54.2
65.8 48.271.7
55.9 51.0 64.5 98.535.9 48.4 50.8
44.2 51.856.2
59.2 58.9 51.0 94.653.9 97.0 56.0
44.8 72.881.1
61.8 49.7 69.1 89.149.1
… 54.0
59.1 78.087.4
80.6 85.8 69.4 88.446.6
… 57.0
68.8 113.076.4
77.6 99.5 89.8 112.2
53.7
… 69.6
51.9 67.386.8
58.8 49.9 32.3 69.6 94.955.4
… 58.0
64.0 49.474.3
56.0 61.0 37.9 55.8 49.341.7 53.7 52.5
53.8 69.384.9
67.6 68.8 32.3 71.8 95.851.7 97.0 62.5 Source: National Report on Paraguay, prepared for the regional meeting to prepare for the Fourth World
Conference on Women, on the basis of the Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos, Household Survey, years 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Institute for Women’s Studies/Ministry of Social Affairs of Spain/Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Mujeres latinoamericanas en cifras: Paraguay, Santiago, Chile, 1993, own amendments.
Note: In some cases, for reasons connected with inconsistencies in the results of the Household Survey, certain changes were made to the results in order to obtain a more reliable set of statistics.
1 In some cases, the results of the Household Survey (labour) by the Dirección General de Estadísticas [sic], Encuestas y Censos concerning the remuneration of women by comparison with that of men were amended due to the results in the official statistics being distorted by lack of information.
2 In the Household Survey from 1983 to 1993 the Metropolitan Area was held to include Asuncion and the rest of the Area (comprised of the districts of Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Limpio, MR Alonso, Nemby, San Lorenzo, Villa Elisa and the Urban Area of Villa Hayes). The 1994 Survey covered Asuncion and all the urban districts of the Central Department, which is not a significant change for the purposes of this analysis.
4. Informal sector
In all the countries of the region, women are concentrated in the urban informal sector, and within the informal sector they work in the categories with the lowest productivity and income. As table 20 shows, they are concentrated in the categories of domestic employees, own-account workers and unpaid family members, these being the categories that earn the least. Men, on the other hand, mainly work in the informal sector as wage earning employees and employers in small establishments and as own- account workers. These results are based on a particular definition of the informal sector. Nonetheless, caution is needed, as there are many definitions of this sector, and its size and characteristics vary depending on which one is chosen. The problem of measuring the informal sector, about which a great number of publications have been produced, is exacerbated when it comes to measuring the activity of women. In a recent study on the informal sector in Mexico (Jusidman and Pollack, 1995), in which different definitions of the sector were used, it was concluded that the size of the sector varies substantially depending on which definition is chosen, and the source of data.