Peru - Gender Indicator - Perception of gender equality

18 PERCEPTION OF GENDER EQUALITY: 77% (2012) 

 

In 2012, 77.02% of Peruvians positively perceived gender equality as a development factor. This result was obtained with the responses to the questions of three key areas (employment, political participation and education). The final result is a composite indicator, which reveals that over two thirds of the population of Peru see gender equality as an important factor for development. Perceptions of individuals on gender equality are strongly influenced by cultural norms and practices, and the high results of Peru reveal a social commitment to gender equality.

 

However, the perception of gender equality varies according to the domain of the question asked. The most favourable perceptions were recorded with regard to education, correlated with objective results. When asked if "university is more important for a man than for a woman," an overwhelming majority of 85.5% of the population said no, suggesting that education is an area in which gender equality is already strongly perceived as positive for development. When asked if "Men make better political leaders than women," a majority, slightly lower than the previous, 80.2% of respondents disagreed, and when asked "When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women", 65.5% of respondents disagreed. This means that approximately 35% of the population still believes that men have priority with regard to employment. While all the figures are relatively high and do not correspond to the current gaps in matters of employment and politics, the most surprising figure refers to the highly positive perception of the role of women in political participation which contrasts with the low current representation of women in Congress.

 

>> A cross analysis of both subjective and objective indicators reveals inconsistencies in terms of positive attitudes and values of the population with respect to gender equality and its translation into tangible results, particularly in the areas of labour and political participation. Therefore, these results show the need to reinforce measures and public investment to ensure transcription of the values and effective results for men and women in areas such as politics and employment opportunities.