Women Labor Force Participation and Its Impact on Economic Growth: A Study of Latin America and the Caribbean Region

Abstract

The problem being studied was that women were underrepresented in the labor force throughout Latin America and the Caribbean regions. In addition, although Latin America and the Caribbean regions experienced sound economic growth over the past decade, poverty levels dropped from 30% in 2021 to 28.5% in 2022. Development within low/low-middle income countries such as those within the Latin America and the Caribbean’s region, is more effected because of the reduction of gender inequality. This quantitative study explored how empowering women contributed to addressing and enhancing economic challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, it aimed to identify the relationship between women's empowerment and economic growth, while examining the influence of relevant variables on the economic development of these countries. This study was motivated by identifying a gap in the literature that made this research viable. Study found that there is statically a significant impact of women’ empowerment on economic growth, where an increase of 10 points in the women empowerment index, increases the growth of real GDP per capita by 2 percentage point per year. The data collected covers 29 countries and regions and covered metrics on women empowerment from 1982 – 2019, which spanned approximately 38 years. The study results concluded that women empowerment statistically impact GDP growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.