In Spain, women invest more than double the hours in unpaid work, worse than the European average and OECD countries
45% of the world population believes that men have a greater right to work than women – a percentage that rises to 11% in the case of Spain – according to the study ‘Index of Social Institutions and Gender 2023’ ( SIGI) of the Development Center of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which was presented this Thursday, April 27, at an event organized with the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (FMBBVA) at Casa de América, in Madrid.
“Without the elimination of gender discrimination and sexist attitudes, no real change can be achieved. If discriminatory treatment continues to exist, for example, in the selection processes to enter the labor market or when requesting a loan, there will always continue to be barriers that will prevent the achievement of gender equality”, stated the head of the Division of Networks, Alliances and Gender of the OECD Development Center and head of SIGI, Bathylle Missika, during her speech.
As she explained during the event, SIGI is an index that collects data from 179 countries, in which ‘0’ is zero discrimination and ‘100’ is absolute discrimination. In this sense, the study reveals that Belgium has the lowest discrimination, with 7.6; followed by Sweden and Spain, with a score of 9; Italy with 9.4 and Taiwan with 9.5. The world average stands at 30, that of Europe at 15 and that of OECD countries at 16.
In the case of Spain, although it obtains a “good” score, it has indicated that “it still has a way to go” to achieve gender equality in some indicators such as the fact that women invest more than double the hours in unpaid work: 5 compared to to 2 in the case of men, an indicator in which Spain scores worse than the European average and than the OECD countries.
Likewise, the report notes that, with respect to the gender gap in senior management positions, 82% are held by men, in line with the European average.
“The index makes visible data that should alarm us, it is essential to speed up the pace, especially with what has to do with the customs and attitudes that perpetuate the gaps in other areas and slow down the advancement of women and of the entire society”, highlighted the head of women and sustainability of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, Laura Fernández Lord.
LATIN AMERICA IMPROVES THE LEVEL OF DESCRIMINATION
The study reflects that Latin America has a level of discrimination of 22 points, which is why it is below the world average and far from Asia (38) or Africa (41).
According to the data from the report, in 2019, there were only 3 countries with very low levels of discrimination, while in the 2023 edition there are 8 countries (5 more). In addition, Chile and Paraguay have gone from a medium level of discrimination to a low level.
Costa Rica with a score of 11, followed by the Dominican Republic with 15 and Panama with 16, are the three best qualified countries in the region, while Peru obtains a score of 22, Colombia with 24 and Chile with 28.
In this way, the study reflects that in Latin America and the Caribbean progress has been made in recent years, particularly in the political participation of women, with 35% of women in parliaments, which makes the region the that this average is the highest.
It also notes that compared to the 42% of people in the world who think that men are better business administrators than women, in Latin America and the Caribbean this percentage drops to 21%. However, there are aspects in which the region is “further behind”, such as paternity leave, which is still very limited.
“Although today women represent around 60 percent of university graduates in the region, a large part of this talent is not put to its best use. Women continue to be concentrated in sectors with lower productivity, and therefore lower remuneration “, has defended the representative in Europe of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Fazia Pusterla.
For his part, the general director of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, Javier M. Flores, explained that gender equality “is a priority” if they want to achieve “truly sustainable and inclusive economic and social development.” “These discriminations perpetuate gender gaps in other areas, such as income inequality, and slow down progress. To speed it up, you have to measure and make visible some invisible things,” he added.
