The United Nations System called on Costa Rica to make progress and achieve equality in women’s employment and income. National statistics show that women make up to 27% less money in the private sector than men, with wage equity being a pending debt.
We have to continue to generate more opportunities for women, who, although they have higher educational levels than men, don´t have more employment opportunities or equality of income,”
said Alice Shackelford, UN Resident Coordinator in Costa Rica.
Faced with this, the UN asks the country to continue developing policies that promote equitable salaries and proportionate with the capabilities of women workers.
World data indicate that female salaries are equivalent to 60% or 75% of male wages. In Costa Rica, it has been recorded that 43% of households in extreme poverty are headed by women. but unemployment affects them more.
Shackelford explained that Costa Rica achieved key reforms such as gender parity in the Constitution and the Electoral Code, as well as the approval of improper relations for the protection of girls and adolescents from abusive relationships.
Although there are other achievements that have positively impacted the daily life of women, there are still important challenges that the country must take as a priority on issues of equal pay, formal and decent employment, and eradication of violence against women and girls,”
said Shackelford.
The UN representative also warned about the problem of teenage pregnancy that is gaining strength in the border, coastal and rural areas. The national data indicate that every year there are 14 thousand pregnancies of women between 12 and 19 years old.