Panamanian women participate more in the labor market

Women make up almost two thirds of the Panamanian labor market, the best result in the region, although the number of women workers in Central America in general is low compared to the rest of the world, according to figures from the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, World Economic Forum, released earlier this month.

While the number of Panamanian women workers did not change between 2008 and 2009, there was a reduction in the number of men who had jobs, which may have weighed more than policies aimed at gender equity.

Countries with greater gender equality are more likely to have higher economic growth, says the report.

The countries leading the world ranking list - Burundi, Rwanda and Ghana - are located in sub-Saharan Africa, but that is largely due to the high rates of male mortality, and are followed by several European countries.

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan job equity has improved, due to an increased number of working women, along with the rise of male unemployment.
The numbers represent the position in the list of 142 countries in the ranking of female participation in the labor market.

The study was based on the proportion of women between 15 and 64 years working divided by the percentage of men in this age group belonging to the formal labor force according to 2009 data.

1. Panama 105
2. Nicaragua 106
3. El Salvador 107
4. Costa Rica 113
5. Guatemala 118
6. Honduras 124