Region´s lowest paid: Afro-descendents, indigenous and women

Latin America´s steady economic growth over the past nine years has not been enough to end income disparities for women, indigenous groups and Afro-descendants, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank.

In the paper, “New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America,” economists evaluated household data from 18 Latin American countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela – and found “women and ethnic minorities are clearly at a disadvantage.”

“Females in the region earn less than their male counterparts even though they are more educated,” the study said. “A simple comparison of average wages indicates that men earn 10 percent more than women. But once economists compare males and females with the same age and level of education, the wage gap between men and women is 17 percent.”.

In the seven countries that had data based on ethnicity — Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru — research showed that the indigenous and Afro-descendant population earned on average, 28 percent less than the white population.

“Polices aimed at reducing these inequalities are still lacking. This is more than just a moral necessity. It is an essential strategy to reduce poverty in the region,” said economist Hugo Ñopo, the lead author of the study.

In the seminar “Afro-descendant women and Latin American Culture: Identity and Development” held in Montevideo, Uruguay in late September, found that extreme poverty in indigenous and Afro-descendent populations in the region is double that of the rest of the population.

Rebeca Grynspan, Latin America director for the United Nations Development Program said that statistics on the Afro-descendant population “hide more than they show” because they are pure averages. She said inequality is also the result of present-day discrimination, not only past discrimination.

Latinamerica Press

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