April 2007 · Number 105 40740 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank`s Latin America and Caribbean Region. CHILE Reconciling the Gender Paradox Lucía Fort, Indu John-Abraham, María Beatriz Orlando and Claudia Piras Chile's development in the recent past has defied On the One Hand...The Progress conventional wisdom. Over the past decade, Chile has made considerable progress in its efforts to reduce The National Service for Women (SERNAM, for its poverty, sustain growth, and promote democratization. Spanish acronym) has served as the cornerstone of the institutional transformation towards gender equality in These advances have been coupled with notable Chile. Since its creation in 1991, SERNAM has been achievements in gender equality. More specifically, responsible for ensuring that the public sector takes Chilean men and women have experienced greater parity into consideration women's interests in the process of in terms of opportunities to services such as education planning, budget analysis, design and implementation and health, legal rights, as well as political voice. Yet of policies and programs. Yet beyond the scope of by the same token, Chile has one of the highest levels of most women's ministries in the region, the SERNAM inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a has focused on mainstreaming gender issues into the factor that has proven, through international evidence, to sector ministries, providing critical support in shaping impede economic growth and poverty reduction. This and implementing public policies with a perspective inequality has been evident in the workplace, with less towards gender. Equal Opportunity Plans, developed than 39 percent female labor force participation, leaving and coordinated by SERNAM, which set forth medium- Chile near the bottom of the regional heap (See Figure 1). to-long term goals and strategies to achieve greater Worldwide evidence indicates that higher female labor gender equity, helped to place gender as a priority on force participation translates to greater economic growth. the public administration agenda. With low participation rates of a large · Figure 1: Female Labor Force Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean portion of its human resources, this trend suggests that Chile has not fully maximized the potential for its economic success. Understanding and addressing the seeming contradictions in gender equality may serve as an important factor in maintaining continued economic and social development. Given this context, Chile has seen a narrowing of over the last few decades, it still remains high. the gap in opportunities between men and women. Substantial increases in female school participation Typically, high poverty rates have been positively have brought levels of enrollment in primary and correlated to higher levels of female labor force secondary education of boys and girls to virtual parity. participation. Essentially, poor women tend to In fact, the educational levels of women in Chile tend work more, even at meager wages, as a survival to be higher than in other countries in the region. strategy. Again, this general trend has proven untrue The legal framework also has sought to bring greater in Chile. Poor Chilean women actually represent equity in the rights of men and women, including a smaller proportional share of the workforce than recent legislative changes in divorce and child custody their counterparts in higher income brackets. More settlements, maternal health care, sex crimes, and specifically, 26 percent of women in the lowest income domestic violence. Women's participation in the quintile in Chile participated in the job market, as workforce has increased 7 percentage points in the past compared to 57 percent of women in the highest 20 years. Nonetheless, these advances still have not quintile (See Figure 2). Consequently, this impedes produced the expected return in terms of enhancing the the potential impact of female participation on poverty impact of women on the economic development of the reduction. country. Understanding the Paradoxes On the Other Hand...The Paradoxes Through the analysis conducted in the Country Gender The experience of Chile has defied conventional Assessment for Chile1, there has been greater clarity wisdom on several counts. First of all, as women about why Chile has faced these contradictions. First become more educated, they tend to participate in of all, inadequate job training, particularly for poor increasing numbers in the job market. Yet, the high women, restricts their entrance into the job market. levels of education among Chilean women have not Although educational levels are generally high in generated proportionally higher levels of female Chile, the access to high quality education, irrespective labor force participation. In fact, Chile registers one of income levels, may not be available to all. of the lowest rates of women's participation in the Second, the relatively traditional values and attitudes labor market as compared, not only to other LAC regarding gender roles, particularly the mother's role countries, but also upper-middle income countries (generally · Figure 2: Female Labor Force Participation Rates by Income Quintiles, with average rates higher than 50 percent), and % Female Participation well below most OECD 90 countries (typically above 80 55 percent). 70 Despite the advances 60 in gender equality, 50 Female women's salaries tend to 40 be substantially less than M ale those of men. Chilean 30 women only make 67 20 percent of the salaries 10 made by their male 0 counterparts. Although the 1 2 3 4 5 income gap has reduced Income by Quintiles 2 · April 2007 · Number 105 Box: System of Child Protection ­ Chile Crece Contigo The Program Chile Crece Contigo (Chile Grows with You) seeks to ensure that all children have equal opportunities for their de- velopment. A subsidy is given to pregnant women in the lowest-income families (up to 40% of households in Chile are eligible), from the pregnancy until the child is three years old, and accompanying the child until s/he enters pre-school. The system takes a holistic approach ­ actions for children served by the public health system and actions directed especially towards the most vulnerable children from low-income households; thereby ensuring a package of adequate basic assistance and services for the needs of each stage of development of the child. Chile Crece Contigo aims to ensure the availability of nursery and pre-schools for children of mothers that work, are looking for work or study for 40 percent of low-income families. The program targets children that present special needs or vulnerable situ- ations (mothers with depression, accidents, or grave illnesses, special needs of the child her/himself). It also allows for the flex- ible use of pre- and post-natal care in certain cases. as the principal caregiver, limit women's ability to the right incentives to encourage women's ability work. This is further complicated by the limited and interest to join the job market. First of all, alternative childcare options available, especially childcare expansion policies can be adjusted to better for poor families, as they prove prohibitively meet the needs of low-income households (see Text expensive. Women who join the labor force often Box for undergoing efforts in Chile). In particular, work for a lesser duration of employment with financing for childcare at the workplace can be a the same employer, shorter periods of continuous shared responsibility among the state, employers employment, and longer periods of inactivity and and employees to make it a more affordable, and unemployment than men. This, in turn, results in therefore more viable, option, even for the poor. less work experience and on-the-job training, which The monitoring and evaluation of existing childcare makes women generally less attractive candidates to programs can be evaluated to assess the impacts on employers. female labor force participation and their cost to low-income households. Also, training and capacity The large gender earnings gap also deters women building programs can be better tailored to facilitate from entering the workforce. This can be explained women's entry into the job market, their continued in large part due to the differences in specific presence, and return after childbirth or child-rearing occupational experience and job tenure. More years. This also may require further analysis of the specifically, Chilean women have tended to have current programs in place. limited work experience in the same job. In addition, occupational crowding and occupational Education will be critical to addressing the strains segregation also contribute to lower earnings than caused by gender wage gaps and occupational men, as many women, particularly in lower income segregation. Namely, at secondary and tertiary brackets, find themselves competing for the same, educational levels, both men and women can be often low-paying, low skilled, jobs. equally encouraged and better educated to pursue the career of their choosing, irrespective of gender biases in occupational choice. Not only that, a Addressing the Paradoxes review of existing training programs will help to identify and revise pedagogical materials to In order to promote increased female labor force reduce gender stereotypes. Finally, the design and participation, and thereby increase the potential for implementation of pilot training programs, such as improved economic development in the country, Chile Joven2 , can help to introduce and encourage Chile can explore various alternatives to stimulate young people to pursue professions outside of the April 2007 · Number 105 · "gender box". Thorough monitoring and evaluation of such programs can further help to broaden the programs. New Report In addition to the policy options explained above, Expanding Women's Work Choices to there are also some intermediate objectives that Chile Enhance Chile's Economic Potential can pursue in its efforts to increase gender equality in the labor markets. In particular, both the public Chile Country Gender Assessment and private sectors can strengthen their capacity to promote gender equity. For example, additional improvements can be made to labor regulations to better accommodate women's presence in the workplace by addressing options such as flexible work schedules, maternity leave, and family leave. Also, they can place greater attention on non-wage labor cost differentials, such as social security or maternity leave, for female employees. Finally, SERNAM can help to develop a full- fledged certification model for gender equality in the workplace. Efforts in this vein have been made in the public sector, which can be further expanded and formalized, and transferred to private firms as well. Conclusions With the presidency of Michelle Bachelet, the first woman president in Chile, conditions are ripe to expand upon the steady progress made thus far to narrow the gender gap. Women's participation in the labor force, and the consequent greater potential for economic development and poverty alleviation, has not been fully exploited. Much progress continues to be made to expand women's contributions to their country and economy, as well as their families. Produced through collaboration between ************ Notes 1. World Bank. Expanding Women's Work Choices to About the Authors Enhance Chile's Economic Potential: Chile Country Lucia Fort is a Senior Gender Specialist, Maria Gender Assessment. Washington, DC: World Bank. Beatriz Orlando is a Senior Economist and Indu- 2007. John Abraham is a Consultant, all associated with the Poverty Group of the Latin America and the 2. Chile Joven is an on-the-job training program for Caribbean Region of the World Bank. Claudia Piras underprivileged youth that provides education and job is a Social Development Specialist in the Sustainable Development Department of the Inter-American experience to build skills that are in demand. Development Bank "en breve" is produced by the Knowledge Team of the Operations Services Department of the Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank - http://www.worldbank.org/lac · April 2007 · Number 105