Women’s account: how much do they earn on average?

Today, March 8, is Women’s Day, but how far have the women of Peru progressed financially?

The latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) show that currently women They represent 4 out of 10 workers in the country and have an average income of SGD 1249.5 per month across the country.

The average salary of Peruvian working women is still lower than before the pandemic and still less than what men in Peru earn.

“It has been found that, educationally, women are mostly the youth- are now more prepared than their male peers, but this does not affect their income,” the INEI Gender Gap 2022 report notes.

Overall, women’s income is still about 30% lower than men’s, but the situation is better than in previous years such as 2021 and 2020.

In the case of the Metropolitan of Lima average earnings That’s S$1,521.9 a month, which is higher than pre-pandemic levels, but just like nationally, women only earn 70% of what men earn.

“One of the main reasons why Peruvian women get low wages is that many of them work fewer hours or end up quitting to devote themselves to their families. In addition, the time spent raising children means that women have less work experience, which affects their wages,” said Maria José Gomez, director of the Forge Foundation.

For its part, INEI points out that the reason most women choose less profitable professions such as education, humanities, social services because some professions are considered more masculine or because they prefer to prioritize their family life.

In addition, a report by the consulting firm Aequales indicates that the representation of Peruvian women in leadership positions is below the regional average of 35%.

In Peru, only 20% of women work general managers26% hold positions on boards of directors, and 33% hold positions in the first line of management.

However, in these cases it indicates that the wage gap is smaller. Peruvian women earn on average 13% less than men, while in Latin America the average gap is 20%.

It should also be taken into account that, according to the Peruvian SME Association, 70% micro and small business in Peru they are led by women. Similarly, eight out of 10 wineries are run by women.

The latter makes sense with INEI data showing that 39.9%, or four out of 10 working women, create their own jobs.