The OECD review of Gender Equality in Peru is the second in a series focussing on Latin America and Caribbean countries, after a first review that focused on Chile. It puts gender gaps in labour and educational outcomes in Peru into a comparative context, and analyses the factors that contribute to unequal outcomes, including the uneven distribution of unpaid work. It discusses how existing policies and programmes in Peru can contribute to improving gender equality and, in particular, increasing men’s participation in unpaid work.

Over the past decades, gender equality in Peru has advanced along several dimensions. Achievements include improved educational attainment at all levels, particularly for women; higher returns to education among women; and their greater labour market inclusion. Close to six out of ten women are employed in Peru, which is higher than in the Latin American comparator countries used for this study – Chile, Colombia and Cost Rica – but lower than the OECD average.

This chapter reviews the evidence on gender gaps in economic outcomes in Peru and discusses the drivers of these gaps. It starts with an overview of gender gaps in educational and labour market outcomes across different dimensions (enrolment and out-of-school rates, skills outcomes, along with labour market participation, gender pay gaps and the interactions between motherhood and access to better quality jobs). It then discusses the main contributing factors to these gaps (unbalanced unpaid care and domestic work, the access to care facilities, attitudes and gender-based stereotypes, and legal barriers). In addition to comparing Peru with other Latin American and OECD countries, the chapter addresses the articulation of gender differences across socio‑economic groups (urban vis-à-vis rural differences, along with differences across levels of education, age cohorts and levels of incomes).

This chapter argues that achieving a better sharing of paid and unpaid responsibilities between men and women in Peru requires a comprehensive policy strategy and presents a holistic framework for its development using two policy axes. The first axis comprises the policies aimed at reducing the barriers that stand in the way of a more equitable division of time and responsibilities between men and women: creating a more effective care system; expanding parental leave; reducing the transmission of gender stereotypes through the education system; and strengthening the access to safe and secure public transportation. The second axis includes the policies that support the participation of women in the labour market: ensuring access to quality education for all; increasing women integration in the formal labour market; promoting women in non-traditional careers and leadership positions; supporting female entrepreneurship; and fighting violence against women. The chapter reviews each area in details and provides policy insights for possible improvements.

This chapter provides an overview of the health social and economic well-being impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic in Peru. It finds that COVID‑19 and the lockdown have dramatically exacerbated gender inequalities at least temporarily. The chapter starts with a discussion of the educational effects of school closures and a review of labour market developments. The pandemic has led many Peruvian women to stop working without searching for re‑employment because they took on additional caring work. In addition to higher labour market inactivity, the pandemic also led to an exacerbation of stress and mental health problems and an upsurge of episodes of violence against women. The chapter then reviews the measures that the Peruvian Government has taken to mitigate these adverse consequences and advances a set of policy insights for continued government efforts to support women, particularly the most vulnerable.