Caribbean Employment

Dominican women are earning more than men

jobs in the Dominican Republic

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce found that women are earning around RD$5,200 more than men, on average.

Statistics show average salary for women $5k more than men, but they’re still shut out of some roles

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — Just in time for Women’s History Month in March, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) recently released statistics that found women, on average, earn more than men do in the country.

This is a divergence from the norm, where many other countries find that men earn more than women, and that more men than women are in managerial or other high-earning positions.

It also comes as global labour organizations are seeing fewer women participate in the workforce than men after the COVID-19 pandemic. This had been the case even before the pandemic struck, but the disparity grew even more amid the crisis.

Women in the Dominican Republic are going against the norm for the global labour force.

The changing labour force put Caribbean women, in particular, in a uniquely challenged position. Many were expected to carry out the double duty of providing care for their families while also struggling to hold onto their jobs.

In Jamaica, for instance, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) found that women were carrying out the most work — in both paid and unpaid labour.

Additionally, because many Caribbean women are employed in the informal sector, which is brutally susceptible to external shocks, the pandemic’s harsh economic downturn made them all the more vulnerable.

As such, the Dominican Republic’s statistics mark an interesting, promising change.

According to the MIC’s data, the average salary for women in the Dominican Republic is RD$38,288. On the other hand, the average salary for men is $RD33,164.

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    Women’s equality in some jobs is still lacking

    Despite these promising statistics, some jobs in the Dominican Republic are still woefully lacking when it comes to employing women.

    Some 70% of women are employed in large industries in the Dominican Republic.

    The MIC reported that the vast majority of women are employed in large businesses, with 70 percent in this category.

    Just 19 percent are employed in small businesses, and an even lower seven percent are employed in micro-businesses.

    The most predominant industries employing women in the Dominican Republic are in pharmaceuticals and manufacturing of plastics, soaps and detergents.

    However, when it comes to industrial manufacturing, women are largely underrepresented.

    According to the MIC, just 23 percent of industrial manufacturing workers are women.

    This indicates that while Dominican women are out-earning their male counterparts, there is still room for improvement as far as equality is concerned and ensuring that women are empowered to enter fields more traditionally dominated by men.

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