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It is a fact that during the pandemic the great vulnerability of women in the workplace was further evidenced. Furthermore, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) , during 2020 there was a forceful departure of women from the labor force, who, due to having to meet the demands of care in their homes, among others responsibilities, they did not resume their job search. This is due to many factors , but mainly because 56.9% of women in Latin America work in the sectors most affected by the pandemic , such as tourism, manufacturing, retail or paid domestic work. The same ECLAC report calculated that the unemployment rate for women reached 12% in 2020 . Specifically in Mexico, the loss of jobs was abysmal, reaching 1.6 million people, of which 84% are women according to INEGI data .
But the crisis did not affect women in the same way throughout the economy, and in fact, the pandemic expanded the possibilities in one of the sectors in which there is a very high potential for job growth: Information Technology. On the one hand, the pandemic has accelerated the consumption of digital goods and services, and it should not be forgotten that companies worldwide were almost forced to initiate their own digital transformations as a result of the pandemic, boosting the demand for trained human capital. . On the other hand, despite being one of the sectors with a very high gender gap, -in Latin America, less than 20% of technology vacancies are filled by women- our perception is that companies in the sector show more interest in hiring women, as the lack of inclusion has a direct impact on the competitiveness of companies, their hiring processes, their performance and, finally, their profitability results.
At Laboratoria , an organization that seeks to train and promote the labor insertion of more women in the tech sector, we have observed that the female talent made up of the 2,000 women graduated from our bootcamp at the regional level has been little impacted by the pandemic: the employability rate it remained at 88%, which denotes the great stability and growth potential that this sector offers to women.
That is why the digital sector can be an opportunity to include women who want to give a turn and boost to their professional careers, whether or not they have lost their job due to the global health situation. The pandemic changed the lives of many people, and women were disproportionately affected. The difficulties are many, and they will continue to have an impact for years to come, but there are also opportunities that we must seize to forge a different future. This is something that excites us, as we are convinced that greater diversity in the industry is key so that we can grow not only in the digital economy, but as a society. The proof of this are the more than 2,000 women graduates of Laboratoria who are demonstrating, each one from their roles, that this is possible.
