摘要：Chile’s development in the recent past has defied conventional wisdom. Over the past decade, Chile has made considerable progress in its efforts to reduce poverty, sustain growth, and promote democratization.
These advances have been coupled with notable achievements in gender equality. More specifically, Chilean men and women have experienced greater parity in terms of opportunities to services such as education and health, legal rights, as well as political voice. Yet by the same token, Chile has one of the highest levels of inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a factor that has proven, through international evidence, to impede economic growth and poverty reduction. This inequality has been evident in the workplace, with less than 39 percent female labor force participation, leaving Chile near the bottom of the regional heap (See Figure 1). Worldwide evidence indicates that higher female labor force participation translates to greater economic growth. With low participation rates of a large portion of its human resources, this trend suggests that Chile has not fully maximized the potential for its economic success. Understanding and addressing the seeming contradictions in gender equality may serve as an important factor in maintaining continued economic and social development.
