The unemployment data for the month of November has thrown a terrifying variable in our faces: of the 7,255 people who increased the unemployment figure in this period, 286 were men and 6,969 were women. The immediate translation of the percentage reaffirms that practically all of the increase, 96 percent, is due to the increase in women seeking work.
That society that claims to be egalitarian, that assures us that men and women have identical capacities, opportunities and treatment, expels women from its labor market as soon as things go wrong. And it can do so, within the framework of this alleged democratic and egalitarian system, because it has previously made sure to reserve precarious, temporary and less responsible jobs for women. Our absence, in economic terms, costs less.
With these data, the gender gap is presented to us in all its magnitude: the exit from the crisis leaves in the way the chronic victims of our patriarchal society, women. The same ones who do bobbin lace every day to respond professionally in their jobs and maintain the quality of family care. Those who maintain on their shoulders the social building of roles, obligations and privileges, as it has been imposed on us.
The feminization of unemployment advances in an inescapable way, despite the complaints of women's groups, despite the professionalism in the performance of work, despite the academic results that confirm a growing preparation and an ample capacity.
Once again, reality advances at one speed while legislation does so at another. The letter of the Law speaks of equality, but the press headlines remind us that there is still a long way to go for the female collective.
By Cristina Duque
