Only 1 in 4 young women work

In the context of economic stagnation, the negative social consequences of low institutional quality are evident, such as the barriers which discriminate against youth employment, especially women. While in developed countries social progress relies on high rates of youth and female employment, in Argentina the entry of young to the labour market is heavily conditioned by low education, costly and bureaucratic labor and tax regulations, and the absence strategies for promoting responsible sexual behavior.  

In socially advanced countries, the majority of the working age population access the labor market through a high quality employment. This leads to a social structure in which there are households with multiple income generators. Notable examples include the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland) where employment rates amount to 73% in average of working age population, and countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands where the rate of employment exceeds 75%.

The major difference of these countries is the high female participation in the labor market. For the average population, gender differences have narrowed and the highlight is that these differences tend to disappear among young people. Taking ages between 15 and 24 years old, in the Nordic countries 47% of young men and 48% of young women have jobs. In Switzerland and the Netherlands 60% of young people, both men and women, work.

Assuming that labor participation is a key determinant of the possibilities for social progress, it appears appropriate to analyze the structure of the labor market in Argentina by gender and age. According to INDEC data for 2013 it is observed that:

·  The employment rate in working age population is 63%.

·  Males have an employment rate of 75% and women 51%.

·  Among young people (15 to 24 years) the average employment rate is 33%, for males 41% and for women 24%.

These data show that the employment rate of Argentina's working age population is low compared with the more socially advanced countries and this is explained by the wide gap between men and women. No less important is that although labor discrimination against women is in effect for all ages its intensity is higher at younger ages. The share of young working women barely exceeds half the rate observed among young males.

The scarcity of employment opportunities for young people is originated in burdensome, bureaucratic and litigious labor and tax rules. Such conditions discourage the creation of new jobs for the population in general, but their effects impact more severely among young people. The exclusion of youth employment is the predictable result of applying similar regulations to experienced and productive adults as well as young people, just beginning their working life, without working experience and often without sufficient levels of education and job training.

Cultural and social factors lead to a situation in which the brunt of the exclusion from the labour market falls on young women of the poorest households. Many drop out of high school because of early pregnancy or to assume family household domestic tasks. Without proper education and pressured by household activities the result is exclusion from the labor market, as a result only 1 in 4 young women under 24 work. This proportion is still lower among poorest households.

It is easy to demonstrate the strategic relevance of creating institutional conditions to generate employment for the young, especially women. Only high levels of employment at the beginning of working life may structurally raise the overall rate of female employment and, thus, promote social progress on a sustainable basis. To achieve this objective is critical to rethink all welfare programs seeking to encourage work and reducing inactivity of women, improve the quality of basic education, adapting labor and tax regulations, and strengthening sexual education for responsible reproduction.