This chapter examines the skills landscape in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, emphasising the importance of enhancing individuals' skills for economic growth. Drawing on data from the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills (2011-2018) and the World Bank's STEP survey, it assesses the performance of men and women in LAC participating countries. Despite gains in educational access, substantial gaps in labour-market-relevant skills persist, limiting development. The chapter explores gender gaps in skills development and labour market outcomes, noting that while young women often outperform young men in reading, this does not lead to better job prospects. Moreover, highly skilled women face lower wages and returns on their literacy skills compared to men. By providing a broader perspective on the region’s education and economy, the chapter contextualises gender-specific findings and stresses the need for ongoing efforts to close skill gaps and promote gender equality in the labour market.
Gender Differences in Education, Skills and STEM Careers in Latin America and the Caribbean
Abstract
Skills transform lives, generate prosperity and promote social inclusion. Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have faced economic challenges such as the 2008 global financial crisis, which have shown the importance of pairing short-term financial measures with broader structural reforms to support sustained growth. The 2008 crisis taught LAC that sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved merely through financial bailouts or monetary expansion. Instead, long-term progress hinges on equipping more people with better skills, allowing individuals to collaborate, compete and connect in ways that propel their own development and that of their countries. While access to formal education has expanded significantly across much of Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, the region continues to struggle with substantial gaps in labour-market-relevant skills and knowledge. This persistent shortfall has become a key constraint on economic and social development, limiting opportunities for individuals and slowing progress at the national level.
Despite narrowing gender gaps across generations, women in Latin American countries participating in PIAAC continue to trail behind men in numeracy, with the proficiency gap among 16–24-year-olds in Chile and Peru measuring less than the OECD average. In Chile, for instance, while the numeracy gender gap among this age group has decreased significantly, it still falls below the OECD average of 10 points, indicating progress yet highlighting room for further improvement. Similarly, Peru demonstrates a reduced numeracy gap in younger generations, aligning closely with Chile’s trends but still requiring targeted efforts to bridge disparities fully. These findings underscore the importance of sustained initiatives to promote gender parity in critical skill areas across the region.
Findings from international assessments indicate that individuals with weaker foundational skills are more likely to experience poorer health, perceive themselves as having little influence on political processes, and refrain from engaging in community or volunteer activities (OECD, 2023[1]). Human capital development is a crucial determinant of success for individuals and economies alike. Literacy and numeracy form the foundation for higher-order cognitive skills. And, as information and communications technology (ICT) permeates all aspects of life, being able to solve problems in technology-rich environments is becoming increasingly important.
Despite remarkable recent progress in educational attainment and enrolment, Latin American and Caribbean countries continue to lag in skill development among secondary-school students and the broader adult population. Young adults in the region face persistent challenges in the labour market and employers frequently cite skill shortages as a major barrier to business growth and productivity.
To better understand these gaps, this chapter draws on data from the first cycle of the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) that was divided into three rounds of data collection (2011–2017) (OECD, 2019[2]; OECD, 2016[3]) to assess the performance of participating Latin American countries, with a focus on adult skill development from a gender perspective. It examines the average proficiency levels of men and women across the three skills measured by the survey, comparing their performance to other participating countries. The results are presented for the four participating Latin American countries: Chile (2014-15) and Ecuador, Mexico and Peru (2017). Additionally, data from the World Bank's Skills Towards Employability and Productivity (STEP) survey, which uses a shorter but comparable PIAAC literacy assessment to assesses the skill levels of adults in certain urban areas of Bolivia and Colombia (Box 5.1), are incorporated where relevant. While the STEP survey is not fully representative of the entire adult population of a country, these data provide critical insights into the region’s skills landscape.
The region has seen significant gains in educational access, particularly among younger generations. As one can expect, data from the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills show that young adults (aged 16–24) who have attended tertiary education perform better in this skills assessment than those who left school without completing upper secondary education. What is interesting is the fact that the skills gap between these groups is much wider in the region than the OECD average, reflecting the region’s relatively recent expansion in upper secondary attainment (OECD, 2023[1]). As a result, skills in Latin America tend to increase more steadily inverse to age, meaning young adults are generally more skilled than older generations. This highlights recent improvements in educational access and attainment.
PIAAC data also indicate that gender gaps in skills development are narrowing across generations – although women in participating Latin American countries lag further behind men in numeracy than the OECD average, the gap is below the OECD average among 16–24-year-olds in Chile and Peru. Still, gender gaps in the labour market remain prevalent. Despite girls in Latin America and the Caribbean outperforming boys in reading in PISA in most countries, this has not translated into better labour market outcomes for women. And even though more highly skilled women at the top of the earnings distribution earn about the same as similarly skilled men in the Latin American countries participating in PIAAC, women in the region generally earn lower wages and have lower returns on their literacy skills than their male peers.
Before delving into the gender-specific analysis of adult skills development in the region, we first examine skills levels for the Latin American countries participating in PIAAC and STEP. This broader perspective contextualises the gender-specific findings and sheds light on the region’s overall educational and economic landscape.
Overview of PIAAC domains and proficiency levels.
The results of the three assessed domains are reported using scales ranging from 0 to 500. Each of the three proficiency scales is divided into “proficiency levels”, defined by particular score-point ranges. Six proficiency levels are defined for literacy and numeracy (from below Level 1 to Level 5) and four for problem solving in technology-rich environments – PSTRE (from below Level 1 to Level 3).
The results for literacy and numeracy are presented in the form of mean proficiency scores for each country as well as the proportion of the population in each proficiency level. When it comes to assessing PSTRE, however, the share of the target population for which the results apply varies widely across countries/economies. This is due to the very different levels of familiarity with computer applications in the countries and economies participating in the Survey of Adult Skills. Proficiency scores relate only to the proportion of the target population in each participating country who were able to undertake the computer-based version of the assessment and thus meet the preconditions for displaying competency in this domain. In other words, the populations for whom proficiency scores for PSTRE are reported are not the same across countries. For this reason, the presentation of these results focuses on the proportion of the population at each proficiency level rather than comparing mean proficiency scores.
The proficiency levels are designed so that the scores represent degrees of proficiency in a particular aspect of the domain. Each level is associated with a certain number of items, with higher levels being associated with items of increasing difficulty. In other words, at each level, individuals can successfully complete certain types of tasks. For example, respondents scoring at Level 1 in literacy are likely to be able to successfully complete tasks that require reading relatively short texts to locate a single piece of information, which is identical to or synonymous with the information given in the question or directive and in which there is little competing information. Respondents reaching Level 5 in literacy are more likely to be able to complete tasks that involve searching for and integrating information across multiple, dense texts, constructing syntheses of similar and contrasting ideas or points of view, or evaluating evidence and arguments. These respondents can apply and evaluate logical and conceptual models and evaluate the reliability of evidentiary sources and select key information. They are also aware of subtle, rhetorical cues and can make high-level inferences or use specialised background knowledge.
The purpose of described proficiency scales is to facilitate the interpretation of the scores assigned to respondents. Respondents at a particular level have demonstrated knowledge and skills associated with that level and also those required at lower levels. Thus, respondents scoring at Level 2 are also likely to be proficient at Level 1, with all respondents expected to answer at least half of the items at that level correctly.
LAC participation in PIAAC
Four Latin American countries took part in the first cycle of PIAAC: Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru. As middle-income countries, their results were lower than most other countries and economies taking part in the PIAAC survey. In literacy, numeracy and problem solving they were at or near the bottom of the rankings, and some did not have the basic skills necessary to take the assessment at all on a digital device, unsurprising in a region with low information and communications technology (ICT) penetration. More highly educated adults did better although even tertiary-educated adults in the Latin American participating countries demonstrated lower proficiency than the other participating countries. Skills in these countries tend to increase more steadily inverse to age, younger people having better skills, reflecting the very recent increases in upper secondary attainment. Gender gaps in skills are also wider among older age groups but narrower among the under-25s.
Source: (OECD, 2023[1]).
World Bank's Skills Towards Employability and Productivity (STEP) survey
STEP consists of two survey instruments that collect information on the supply and demand for skills – a household survey and an employers’ survey. The household survey includes three unique modules to measure different types of skills: (a) Cognitive skills are defined as the “ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought”. Cognitive skills are measured through self-reported surveys on literacy, numeracy and writing skills as well as an assessment of reading literacy based on PIAAC and designed to identify levels of competence at accessing, identifying, integrating, interpreting, and evaluating information; (b) Socio-emotional skills, sometimes referred to in the literature as non-cognitive skills or soft skills, which are measured by a battery of self-reported information on personality traits and behaviour (conscientiousness, extraversion, self-control, decision making, and aggressive behaviour) as well as risk and time preferences; (c) the use of job-relevant skills, which are measured by a series of questions on task-specific skills that the respondent possesses or uses in his or her job.
Data collection started in March 2012 for the first wave of countries in STEP. In this wave, household and employer surveys were implemented in some urban areas in Lao PDR, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Viet Nam and Yunnan (province of China). In Bolivia and Colombia only the household survey was implemented. The second wave of implementation started in 2013. Both the household and employer surveys were implemented in Armenia, Georgia and Macedonia. The household survey alone was administered in Ghana and Kenya, and the employer survey alone was implemented in Azerbaijan.
The STEP target population is defined as all non-institutionalised persons 15 to 64 years of age (inclusive) living in private dwellings in some urban areas of the country at the time of data collection. This includes all residents except foreign diplomats and non-nationals working for international organisations. In Bolivia, the survey was conducted in urban areas of the following cities: La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. In Colombia, the survey was conducted in 13 metropolitan areas of the country: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Cartagena, Pasto, Ibagué, Pereira, Manizales, Montería, Villavicencio.
Source: (World Bank, 2014[4]).
Across OECD participating countries, nearly half of all adults (44.6%) scored at Level 3 or higher in literacy proficiency. However, in the participating Latin American countries, significantly fewer adults reach these levels. Only 5.2% of adults in Ecuador, 11.7% in Mexico, and 6.1% in Peru achieve Level 3 or higher, while Chile performs slightly better at 14.5% (OECD, 2024[5]). These countries also exhibit some of the highest shares of adults scoring at Level 1 or below: Ecuador (71.2%), Peru (70.2%), Chile (53.4%) and Mexico (50.6%) (Figure 5.1).
The average literacy score across OECD countries is 266 points but the participating Latin American countries assessed fall well below this benchmark. Adults in Mexico scored an average of 222 points, in Chile 220 points, and in Peru and Ecuador just 196 points. These scores reflect persistent challenges in improving literacy outcomes despite recent gains in educational attainment (Figure 5.1) (OECD, 2023[6]).
Percentage of adults scoring at each proficiency level in literacy.
Note: Adults in the missing category were not able to provide enough background information to impute proficiency scores because of language difficulties or learning or mental disabilities (referred to as literacy-related non-response).
Source: (OECD, 2019[2]).
Besides differences in average literacy proficiency, it is also useful to explore differences in the distribution of scores within each country or economy. This can be done by identifying the score below which 5%, 25%, 75% and 95% of adults perform. Comparing score-point differences among adults at different points in the distribution of proficiency measures the extent of variation in that distribution in each participating country or economy. On average, across OECD countries, the gap between the top 25% and bottom 25% of adults in literacy scores – measured by the interquartile range – is 61 points. Among the Latin American countries that participated in PIAAC Cycle 1, Peru and Chile exhibit the largest disparities, with score gaps of 74 and 73 points, respectively. In Ecuador, the gap is 68 points, slightly above the OECD average, while in Mexico, it matches the OECD average at 61 points (OECD, 2023[1]).
On average, two in five adults (42.2%) across PIAAC-participating OECD countries/economies scored at Level 3 and above in numeracy. In the participating Latin American countries, much smaller shares of the adult population performed at this level: 11.9% in Chile, 3.6% in Ecuador, 8.9% in Mexico and 5.6% in Peru (OECD, 2024[5]). At the lower end of the scale, the share of adults scoring at Level 1 or below is alarmingly high, particularly in Ecuador (76.8%) and Peru (74.8%). Chile (61.9%) and Mexico (60.1%) also struggle with a large proportion of adults with weak numeracy skills (Figure 5.2).
The average numeracy score across OECD countries is 262 points but participating Latin American countries once again performed considerably worse: Peru (179 points), Ecuador (185 points), Chile (206 points), and Mexico (210 points). Additionally, the variation in numeracy proficiency within countries is stark. The difference in scores between the top and bottom quartiles is 91 points in Peru, 82 points in Chile and 74 points in Ecuador, all exceeding the OECD average of 68 points. These gaps highlight significant inequalities in skill distribution within countries (OECD, 2023[1]).
Percentage of adults scoring at each proficiency level in numeracy
Note: Adults in the missing category were not able to provide enough background information to impute proficiency scores because of language difficulties or learning or mental disabilities (referred to as literacy-related non-response). Countries and economies are ranked in descending order of the combined percentages of adults scoring at Level 3 and at Level 4/5.
Source: (OECD, 2019[2]).
The PSTRE survey provides two key insights into adults' ability to navigate technology-rich environments. First, it identifies the proportion of adults who are sufficiently familiar with computers to use them for information-processing tasks. Second, it assesses the proficiency levels of those individuals in solving problems they are likely to encounter as workers, citizens and consumers in a digital world.
Nearly one-third of adults (29.7%) demonstrate proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments (PSTRE) at Level 2 or 3, the highest levels in this domain on average across OECD countries participating in the survey. Among the four Latin American countries participating in the survey, Chile has the largest proportion of adults performing at these levels (14.6%) while Mexico (10.2%), Peru (6.6%) and Ecuador (5.2%) have lower shares (OECD, 2023[1]).
At the other end of the spectrum, 43% of adults across OECD countries scored at Level 1 or below in PSTRE. Among participating Latin American countries, Ecuador has a similar proportion (43.1%) while Chile’s share is nearly 10 percentage points higher (52.4%). In contrast, Mexico (32.1%) and Peru (37.8%) have smaller shares of adults scoring at Level 1 or below. Additionally, a significant portion of adults in these countries either lacked computer experience or did not meet the basic ICT skills required to take the computer-based assessment. As a result, their proficiency in PSTRE was not assessed, which may contribute to the lower reported shares at Level 1 or below (Figure 5.3).
Percentage of 16–65-year-olds scoring at each proficiency level.
Note: Adults included in the missing category were not able to provide enough background information to impute proficiency scores because of language difficulties or learning or mental disabilities (referred to as literacy-related non-response). The missing category also includes adults who could not complete the assessment of problem solving in technology-rich environments because of technical problems with the computer used for the survey. Cyprus, France, Italy and Spain did not participate in the problem solving in technology-rich environments assessment. Countries and economies are ranked in descending order of the combined percentages of adults scoring at Level 2 and 3.
Source: (OECD, 2019[2]).
Across all participating countries, a considerable proportion of adults were unable to demonstrate proficiency in PSTRE due to taking the paper-based assessment. This group includes three subsets: (1) those with no prior computer experience, (2) those who failed the ICT core test, which assesses basic computer skills like using a mouse or scrolling through a webpage, and (3) those who opted for the paper-based test despite reporting ICT experience.
Aside from PSTRE scoring, an average of 11.7% of adults in PIAAC-participating countries reported having no computer experience and an additional 4.7% lacked the basic ICT skills required to take the computer-based assessment. The Latin American countries stand out for their high proportions of adults with no prior computer experience or poor ICT skills: Ecuador (32.9%), Mexico (39.2%) and Peru (43.6%) (OECD, 2023[1]).
These findings reflect broader disparities in economic development and digital access. Household computer ownership is relatively low in these countries - only 43.9% of households in Ecuador, 44.2% in Mexico and 33.6% in Peru had a computer in 2021 (ITU, 2021[7]). Internet access is also limited, with only about half of households in Ecuador (53.2%) and Peru (48.7%) having functional home Internet while Mexico’s share is slightly higher (60.6%). In contrast, in many high-income OECD countries, over two-thirds of households have access to a computer, the Internet and a telephone line.
Additionally, some adults chose to take the paper-based assessment despite having prior computer experience. On average, 10% of adults in participating countries opted for this format. Among Latin American countries participating in the survey, Ecuador (18.1%) and Mexico (17.8%) have the highest shares of adults opting out of the computer-based assessment. Peru's share (11.1%) is close to the overall average while Chile has the lowest proportion (7.5%).
Basic skills and gender differences
Despite gains in schooling, many adults in Latin America lack essential reading skills, as we saw above, with little variation between men and women. Weak learning outcomes during childhood and adolescence likely contribute to poor adult literacy. Data from the first cycle of PIAAC for Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru indicate that 59.5% of working-age adults (25–65 years) have low reading proficiency (scoring below Level 2). This proportion is about 3.4 times higher than the OECD average (Figure 5.4). Similarly, STEP data for Bolivia and Colombia show that 53.4% of adults have low reading proficiency. The gap between men and women is minimal: 59.3% of men and 60.1% of women scored below Level 2 compared to OECD averages of 17.6% and 17.7%, respectively (OECD, 2023[1]).
Note: Low performers are defined as those who score below Level 2 in reading. The LAC average is calculated only for PIAAC countries. The OECD average excludes Latin American countries.
Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), for Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
Gender gaps in skills proficiency vary by domain. Differences are generally smaller in literacy than in numeracy and Latin America follows this pattern. The gender gap in numeracy exceeds the OECD average of 11 score points in Peru (16 points) and Chile (21 points) (Figure 5.5).
Differences in mean score between men and women
Note: Statistically significant differences are marked in a darker tone. Unadjusted differences are the differences between the two means for each contrast category. Adjusted differences are based on a regression model and take account of differences associated with other factors: gender, education, immigrant background, language and parents' educational attainment. Countries and economies are ranked in ascending order of the difference in numeracy scores (men minus women).
Source: (OECD, 2019[2]).
Additionally, literacy skills vary based on labour market status. PIAAC data show that 42.4% of employed adults in the Latin American sample have moderate literacy proficiency (at or above Level 2), which is about 43 percentage points below the OECD average of 85.9%. Unemployed and inactive adults in the region tend to be less proficient: only 41.1% of unemployed individuals and 34.9% of inactive ones have reading proficiency at or above Level 2. The data for the participating Latin American countries also reveal some small gender differences: 43.5% of employed women and 41.7% of employed men are proficient. Among the inactive, 34.4% of women and 36.9% of men scored at or above Level 2 (OECD, 2023[1]).
The skills profile of informal workers is particularly weak. In Bolivia and Colombia, 50% of informal workers scored below Level 2 in STEP's reading skills measure. Women tend to fare worse than men: in Bolivia, 69% of women and 67% of men in informal employment have low reading proficiency while in Colombia, 47% of women and 43% of men fall into this category.
Age and gender disparities in skills proficiency
Gender differences in literacy and numeracy are more pronounced among older adults. Two key factors explain this trend: (a) women's educational attainment has progressively caught up with men's, and (b) men and women continue to pursue different occupational paths, affecting opportunities to practice and maintain skills. In Peru and Chile, gender gaps in numeracy are among the highest across PIAAC participants for adults aged 25 and over (19 and 24 score points, respectively) but decline significantly among younger adults (5 and 8 score points, respectively) and is below the OECD average. This suggests that younger women have reached near-parity in education with men. However, among adults over 25, women still remain overrepresented among those without upper secondary education and underrepresented among those who have completed it (OECD, 2023[1]).
For adults aged 45 and over, gender gaps in numeracy are wider than the OECD average in Chile, Ecuador and Peru but are much smaller among younger adults. A similar pattern exists in Mexico although the gender gap among older adults is in line with the OECD average.
Gender gaps in problem-solving skills
Gender differences in problem solving in technology-rich environments (PSTRE) skills are less pronounced than in literacy and numeracy. On average across OECD countries, 32% of men and 28% of women scored at Level 2 or 3 in PSTRE. Similarly, in Latin American countries participating in PIAAC, gender gaps at the highest proficiency levels remain small. In Ecuador, 6% of men and 4% of women scored at Levels 2 or 3 while in Peru, 7% of men and 6% of women reached these levels (OECD, 2023[1]). The gap is slightly wider in Mexico (13% of men vs. 8% of women) and Chile (17% of men vs. 12% of women) (Figure 5.6).
At the lower end of the distribution, more women than men lack basic ICT experience or fail the ICT core test in Ecuador and Peru. In Ecuador, 35% of women fall into this category compared to 31% of men while in Peru, the figures are 47% for women and 41% for men. In contrast, gender differences are smaller in Chile and Mexico where 26% of women and 24% of men in Chile, and 41% of women and 38% of men in Mexico, reported having no computer experience or failing the ICT core test (OECD, 2023[1]).
Percentage of women and men scoring at Level 2 or 3 in problem solving in technology-rich environments or having no computer experience
Note: Percentages for the problem solving in technology-rich environments scale are computed so that the sum of percentages for the following mutually exhaustive categories equals 100%: opted out of the computer-based assessment; no computer experience; failed ICT core test; below Level 1, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. For more detailed results for each category, see the corresponding table mentioned in the source below. Cyprus, France, Italy and Spain did not participate in the problem solving in technology-rich environments assessment. Countries and economies are ranked in descending order of the combined percentages of men scoring at Level 2 or 3.
Source: (OECD, 2019[2]).
It is widely documented that those with higher qualifications are more likely to find employment (Card, 2001[8]; Harvey, 2000[9]; Pages and Stampini, 2007[10]). While employment opportunities do exist for individuals with lower qualifications, their overall labour market prospects remain relatively limited. People with the lowest educational qualifications have lower earnings and often work in routine jobs that are at greater risk of being automated, therefore increasing their likelihood of being unemployed (Arntz, Gregory and Zierahn, 2016[11]),
Education at a Glance (EAG) data show the employment rate for adults (25–64-years-old) without upper secondary education across OECD countries averages 60%, rising to 77% for those whose highest attainment is upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education – a 17-percentage-point increase. Tertiary education further boosts employment rates by an additional 10 percentage points, reaching 87% on average. However, in Latin American countries, the employment advantage of attaining upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education is generally lower than in OECD countries. Only in Brazil is the gap comparable to OECD levels, with a 15 percentage-point difference in employment rates between those with and without upper secondary education. In contrast, the employment premium is less than 10 percentage points in Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina and Peru (OECD, 2024[5]).
Among young adults aged 25–34 without upper secondary attainment, gender disparities are particularly stark (Figure 5.7). On average across OECD countries, 47% of women aged 25–34 without upper secondary attainment are employed compared to 72% of their male peers, creating a 25-percentage-point gender gap. This gap is even wider in many Latin American countries, with employment rates for young men in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil exceeding those of young women by 30 to 44 percentage points. Peru stands out as an exception, where the gender gap is lower than the OECD average: 66% of women aged 25–34 without upper secondary attainment are employed compared to 86% of men – a 20 percentage-point gap. This suggests that women with lower educational qualifications have relatively better employment prospects in Peru than in other Latin American countries (OECD, 2024[5]).
Percentage of employed 25–34-year-olds among all 25–34-year-olds
Source: (OECD, 2024[5]).
The above-mentioned inequalities persist despite girls outperforming boys in reading and performing only marginally behind boys in mathematics, as seen in PISA assessments (OECD, 2023[6]). A key contributor to this disparity is the divergence in career aspirations, which often translates into future occupational choices. According to PISA 2022 data, only a small minority of girls in LAC countries (between 5 and 19%, depending on the country) reported that they expect to work in a STEM-related occupation. Boys are more than twice as likely as girls to report this expectation in most of the LAC countries. The gender gap in expectations is especially large in LAC countries like Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic, where boys are over 15 percentage points more likely than girls to report that they expect to pursue a career in a STEM-related occupation. It follows that, in LAC, only around 4 out of 10 graduates in STEM are women, varying widely across countries. Interestingly, LAC fares slightly better than the world and the OECD averages (38% and 37%, respectively) in terms of female STEM graduates (Figure 5.8).
Looking beyond STEM education to STEM employment outcomes, evidence points to even wider gender gaps. Women are underrepresented in science and engineering occupations (70.2% men) but overrepresented in occupations like in health (71.4% women) and education (62.5% women). The gender gap is even more pronounced in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector where women account for only 30% of workers, with wide variation across countries – from 42% in Guyana to just 22% in Argentina. LinkedIn economic data show that men are roughly twice as likely as women to work in STEM occupations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru (WEF, 2024[12]) CEDLAS household surveys also show that in most LAC countries, fewer than one in five women aged 30–40 is employed in STEM fields while the share for men is two to three times higher (Berniell, Fernández and Krutikova, 2025[13]). Countries like Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru exhibit the largest gaps, reflecting disparities that begin in adolescence (see Chapter 4 for graphs). This disparity is not unique to the region but reflects a global trend: on average, women only hold 28% of positions in science and engineering fields (UNESCO, 2017[14]).
Share of graduates in STEM careers by gender (%).
Note: The shares represent the average participation of men and women in STEM-related graduate fields, encompassing engineering, manufacturing, construction, natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, science and technology. The regional average is calculated as a simple average of values from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The averages for OECD countries and the world are computed similarly.
Source: World Bank's Gender Data Portal, based on data collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Earnings data reinforce these inequalities. In OECD countries, highly skilled women in literacy (PIAAC Level 2 or above) in the top earnings quartile earn 22% lesser than equally skilled men (Figure 5.9). In contrast, highly-skilled women in the top earnings quartile earn about the same as similarly skilled men in the Latin American countries participating in PIAAC and STEP. However, there are significant variations across countries: in Chile, the pay gap is 15%, while in urban Bolivia and Colombia, it reaches 40% and 37%, respectively. Mexico is an outlier where highly-skilled women earn 6.4% more than their male counterparts.
Note: The data are based on gross hourly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers (30 hours or more per week) aged 25 to 65 expressed in purchasing-power-parity-adjusted USD (2012). The wage distribution was trimmed to eliminate the 1st and 99th percentiles. The first plausible value was used for determining the proficiency level. The LAC average is calculated only for PIAAC countries. The OECD average excludes Latin American countries.
Source: OECD, Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), for Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, and World Bank, STEP Skills Measurement Program, for Bolivia and Colombia.
Returns on reading skills in LAC are estimated at 5.8%. This is below the OECD average of 7.9%. The returns are slightly higher for men (6.1%) than for women (5%). Country-level analysis suggests that an increase in literacy proficiency by one standard deviation boosts women’s earnings by 5.7% in Ecuador and 10% in Chile. For men, the impact ranges from 6.2% in Ecuador to 15.6% in urban Bolivia (OECD, 2023[1]).
Even when women graduate from STEM programmes, their transition into related employment is constrained by workplace discrimination, caregiving responsibilities and lack of flexible working arrangements (Beede et al., 2011[15]). In LAC, unpaid care work is estimated to account for 21.4% of GDP, significantly higher than the OECD average of 15%. Women bear the brunt of this burden, performing 74% of unpaid care work in most LAC countries compared to 66% in OECD countries (UNDP, 2024[16]).
The underrepresentation of women in STEM fields has far-reaching implications. STEM careers are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying occupations globally. The continued underutilisation of female talent in these areas not only limits women’s economic opportunities but holds back the region’s overall productivity and growth potential. Increasing the number of STEM jobs and fostering a more diverse workforce could meaningfully accelerate economic performance in LAC, especially given the strong association between STEM occupations, higher wages and labour productivity. Addressing gender disparities in STEM employment requires early and sustained interventions (see Chapter 6). These include tackling stereotypes, strengthening school-level guidance systems, showcasing successful female STEM professionals, and ensuring that workplace environments are inclusive, flexible and supportive of women’s career development.
In conclusion, the integration of women into STEM fields and the effective utilisation of their skills remain pivotal to addressing the persistent gender disparities in the labour market. The evidence presented highlights the multidimensional challenges faced by women, from wage inequalities and caregiving responsibilities to workplace discrimination and limited access to flexible arrangements. These barriers significantly constrain the transition of female graduates from STEM programmes into relevant employment, thereby undermining the productivity potential of the labour market, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Data from PIAAC further underscore the critical role of literacy and other foundational skills in influencing earnings. Returns on literacy proficiency demonstrate substantial variations across countries, with notable gender differences that persist despite high levels of skill attainment. For instance, while returns on literacy skills for men in urban Bolivia reach 15.6%, women in the same context experience significantly lower impacts. This underscores the necessity of creating equitable labour market structures where both men and women can fully leverage their competencies.
STEM careers, characterised by their high growth potential and association with elevated wages, represent a crucial opportunity for enhancing labour market outcomes. However, the underrepresentation of women in these fields has far-reaching implications, not only for gender equality but also for national economic performance. The unparalleled growth potential of STEM occupations calls for targeted interventions to eliminate the barriers that hinder women's participation and success in these sectors.
Addressing these challenges demands a comprehensive and sustained policy approach. Investments in skill development, as well as initiatives to tackle stereotypes and promote inclusive workplace practices, are essential. Moreover, educational systems must prioritise early interventions, reinforced by guidance systems that inspire and prepare young women for STEM careers. By fostering an equitable and diverse workforce, the region can unlock its full economic potential, leveraging both the human capital of its population and the transformative power of skills in the labour market.
References
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