How Have Gender Gaps in the Colombian Labor Market Changed during the Economic Recovery?

This paper analyzes gender gaps in the Colombian labor market, with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 shock and the economic recovery. Using household survey and administrative data, the analysis finds significant and persistent gender gaps in favor of men in terms of participation, unemployment, and income. These gaps are heterogeneous at the regional level in Colombia, and are exacerbated among women with children, particularly young children, and those with low levels of education. The COVID-19 pandemic widened these gaps, including from higher female concentration in the most affected sectors and potentially associated with the disproportionate burden of care on women. Moreover, using decomposition techniques, the paper finds that the decline observed in the hourly gender wage gap results from two offsetting effects: the explained gap, which favors women due to their endowments, primarily education level, and the unexplained gap, which favors men and may be associated with discriminatory biases. Moreover, the gender wage gap widens significantly when considering monthly income, showing variations in hours worked between men and women. Given the poorer labor market outcomes among women with children, policies toward the reduction and redistribution of care work within households could contribute to increase women’s opportunities in the labor market.