Beyond Barriers: The Gender Implications of Trade Liberalization in Latin America

The executive summary examines how trade liberalization in South America has affected women across rural and urban labor markets. It identifies a 'feminization' of export jobs characterized by low security and a 'glass ceiling' where women are replaced by men during technological upgrades. While female activity rates and human capital have increased, trade liberalization led to skill mismatches and higher unemployment for women compared to men. Despite these challenges, the document notes that Latin American women have overall better access to education, health, and political participation at the start of the 21st century.

• Trade liberalization in high-value agricultural exports in South America supports two gender-based hypotheses: the 'feminization of exporting jobs,' where women are hired for their perceived obedience and acceptance of poor working conditions, and a 'glass ceiling' where women in unskilled roles are replaced by men during technological upgrading.
• While female activity rates across all age, income, and schooling groups expanded in South American urban labor markets over two decades, trade liberalization created a skill mismatch that resulted in higher unemployment for the female working-age population than for males.
• Women have seen an increase in human capital and a general reduction in the male-female wage gap, although the gap remains higher among subgroups with more education.
• By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Latin American women have better access to development constituents—including health, education, and political representation—than in previous periods, evidenced by lower fertility and mortality rates and higher school attendance for girls.

APA

Ventura-Dias,, V. (2010). Beyond Barriers: The Gender Implications of Trade Liberalization in Latin America. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/beyond-barriers-gender-implications-trade-liberalization-latin-america

Chicago

Ventura-Dias,, Vivianne. Beyond Barriers: The Gender Implications of Trade Liberalization in Latin America. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2010. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/beyond-barriers-gender-implications-trade-liberalization-latin-america.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ventura-Dias, |first1=Vivianne |title=Beyond Barriers: The Gender Implications of Trade Liberalization in Latin America |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=25 February 2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/beyond-barriers-gender-implications-trade-liberalization-latin-america |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{venturadias2010beyond, author = {Ventura-Dias,, Vivianne}, title = {{Beyond Barriers: The Gender Implications of Trade Liberalization in Latin America}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/beyond-barriers-gender-implications-trade-liberalization-latin-america}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }