E-Mobility Program for Sustainable Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean

FP189: E-Mobility Program for Sustainable Cities in
Latin America and the Caribbean
Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay
| IDB | B.33/02/ADD.03
September 13, 2022

Gender Assessment
E-Mobility Program for Sustainable Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. INTRODUCTION
Transportation is not gender neutral. Men and women have different socio-economic roles and
responsibilities, which are associated with different patterns of use, access and transport needs.
Inadequate transport systems can restrict women’s access to education, economic opportunities
and healthcare.
The nine countries 0 included in the Program E-Mobility Program for Sustainable Cities in Latin
America and the Caribbean - Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica,
Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay- present similar development indicators in education,
employment, entrepreneurship and political representation. However, significant gender gaps
continue to exist for women due to cultural and structural barriers in these countries that limit
their participation in the electromobility sector.
2. GENDER CONTEXT
Legal, regulatory and institutional framework. The nine countries have ratified or acceded
the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)1 and
its optional protocol. They also have ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem Do Para)2. Their
constitutions address equality before the law and states no one can be discriminated against on
the basis of sex. Most countries have performed a normative reform effort to establish an
adequate framework for development and have some specific public institution for promoting
gender equity However, normative advances still face a deeply patriarchal and androcentric
culture that is reflected in many social and institutional practices.
3. SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS
Education. The literacy rate average 95.5% in the countries of the program and is similar
between men and women in all the counties except in Jamaica where the gender gap reaches 9
points of difference (M: 92.7% H: 83.4%). (See Table 1 for detailed information on the indicators
described in this section).
1 CEDAW is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an
international bill of rights for women, it was instituted on 3 September 1981 and has been ratified by 189 states.
2 The Convention of Belem do Pará is an international human rights instrument adopted by the Inter-American
Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States at a conference held in Belém do Pará, Brazil
on 9 June 1994. It is the first legally binding international treaty that criminalizes all forms of violence against
women, especially sexual violence
1

Regarding educational attainment, most of the countries present educational gender gaps for
men. In primary education, most countries have similar enrolment for women and men, with the
highest percentage in Barbados, Costa Rica and Uruguay with more than 95% and the lowest in
Jamaica with 81%. In secondary education. The number of women enrolled is higher in all the
countries with gender gaps between 8 and 1 points. Paraguay has the lowest enrolment (M:66%
M: 65.8%) and the smallest gender gap. Barbados has the higher enrolment and one of the
biggest gender gaps (M: 96.8% M: 90.6%). In tertiary education, all the countries present a higher
number of enrollments among women with large differences in the number of people enrolled