Uatae calls for equality policies to address 30% income gap for self-employed women

The Union of Associations of Self-Employed Workers and Entrepreneurs (Uatae) has called for equality policies to specifically include self-employed women. The organization reports a significant income gap of approximately 30% for female entrepreneurs, which subsequently results in a 41% difference in pension payments.

According to Uatae, economic inequality persists in self-employment despite the absence of traditional payrolls. Of the 3,483,209 registered self-employed workers, 1,289,587 are women, representing 37% of the group. While the number of female self-employed workers is growing at a faster rate (2.1% annually) than men (1.8%), structural challenges remain.

Key factors contributing to this disparity include the burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving responsibilities, which limits working hours and income generation, as well as a concentration of women in lower-profitability sectors and difficulties in accessing financing.