El trabajo de cuidado y la participación laboral de las mujeres casadas ecuatorianas

Abstract

The care economy seeks to understand the role of society in care provisioning for all the family members from an economic perspective. In Latin America, the increasing population ageing, as well as the unsatisfied demand met by the institutions in charge of child care (under five-year-old children), elder care and disable people has lead into a “care crisis” yielding the responsibility to their families, and consequently to women. In this context, the objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between the care work undertaken by women in households and their participation in the Ecuadorian labor market in 2013- 2014. A probit regression model is estimated. The results show that Ecuadorian married women who look after kinder garden children, elderly or disabled people are less likely to insert themselves into the labor market. Furthermore, when married women belong to the poorest strata of the population and are responsible for one care-dependent person in the household at the same time, they are less likely to insert themselves into the labor market.