And you’ve felt discriminated against at work? According to the fourth and final installment of the survey “Barómetro del Trabajo”, carried out by the Fiel and Mori Chile Foundation, 45% of Chileans have felt discriminated against in their working environment, and the main one is because they are women with 27%.
Looking at who these women are, 40% of women say they are currently working; 35% have university studies; 60% belong to the middle and upper class and 42% earn between 1 and 2 million pesos per month.
For CUT President Bárbara Figueroa, this situation is worrying and urgently needs to be addressed, but it is not surprising: “These figures are serious as they once again corroborate the critical situation of women in the face of the world of work. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to take affirmative action from the State and to end this gender discrimination, which obviously occurs in the vast majority of jobs, with a certain greater perception of illegitimate differences in those women performing functions where they can face such situations (management, professional, etc.) and therefore make them visible, since unfortunately there are other jobs where women in dealing with these discriminations are punishable by dismissals or other work measures. Not for something a small number of business executives are women.”
The higher the income, the greater the perception
Employment discrimination on the grounds of wage inequality among people with equal work was the second most spontaneously mentioned argument with 22%. This figure shows that those who suffer the most from this type of discrimination are adults between the ages of 40 and 49 with 28% and those who are between 30 and 39 years old with 27%. In terms of income level, people who have wages above $2,000,000 are the ones who feel most discriminated against at 30%, followed by those earning between $500,000 and $1,000,000 with 26% and those earning less than $500,000 with 21%.
The third reason perceived as labour discrimination has to do with “how they see us.” Discrimination on the basis of appearance, condition or physical capacity reaches 21%, evenly concentrated at the extremes of age: 28% are for adults over 60 years of age and 27% for young people between the ages of 18 and 29.
As a conclusion Marta Lagos, Director of Mori Chile, explains that it is clear from this survey that “the most discriminated against at work in Chile are women with unequal wages, who are also discriminated against for their “painting”, being the most hidden form of racism. As a Spanish hairdresser said, in Chile women dye their hair blonde so as not to look like half-breeds. There is the explanation for why the Chilean woman wants to put on “a mask” as Octavio Paz said, because otherwise she does, she is discriminated against by her appearance. Unacceptable undercover racism that must be revealed, transparent and dismantled to become a society of equals. Appearance cannot be a cause for discrimination, all appearances are equally respectable.”
40 Working hours a week
Nearly two weeks ago, the Senate Working Committee announced that it will resume the bill seeking to reduce the working hours from 45 to 40 hours presented by MPs Camila Vallejo and Karol Cariola days before the so-called “social outburst of October 18”.
A year later and after spending much of the pandemic working from home, “Labour Barometer” reveals that 82% of Chileans believe that in our country it should have a working day of 40 or less hours per week. This overwhelming percentage corresponds to young people with 46%, women with 42%, lower-class people with 44% and those with middle education with 42%, who demand the most for a reduction in working hours of up to 36 hours per week.
Without going any further, 56% of Chileans point out that the number of hours they work does not seem adequate, compared to only 39% which ensures that the time-to-work ratio is correct.
One meal a day: side effect of the pandemic
Finally, the pandemic has stripped away pressing aspects of Chilean society. Work Barometer asked the question “How many hot meals a day do you eat at home?” In September of this year, 44% of Chileans said they had three hot meals at their disposal a day. This cifdeclined sustainably in November when 37% can sustain the same thing.
While those who claim to eat only one hot meal a day, today 25% of Chileans are in this segment, a figure that, compared to the latest measurement of Labour Barometer, also increases dramatically by seven percentage points. Following this same line, the study reveals that this group corresponds by 37% to people who do not work or who are in an cesant and 36% of those who earn $301,000 or less, with young people, older adults, women and lower-class people most affected.
