On Wednesday, February 12, the first Observatory for the Promotion of the Violet Economy (OPEV) was presented. The aim is to reduce the barriers that prevent women and men from having equal access to social, economic, political and educational opportunities.
This initiative is led by the gender consulting firm Bridge The Gap, the ESAI Business School of Espiritu Santo University, the market research firm IIPSOS and the Women Economic Forum.
The Mayor Cynthia Viteri, OPEV board member and ambassador for this cause, made the launching at the Convention Center of the Universidad Espiritu Santo (UEES).
The gender gap would take at least 100 years to close completely. This, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global 2020 Report on Gender Gaps.
According to OPEV figures, women in Ecuador earn 16 % less than men; in addition, 41 % of women believe that men have better access to professional development opportunities, and 51 % believe that they have greater access to jobs. The data were part of the presentation of the Violet Economy Initiative, which consists of establishing “the same rules of the game” for men and women in the social, economic and political spheres through equality, competitiveness and sustainability, said OPEV's executive director.
We need to know why they are voluntarily resigning, which is a very key piece of information.
said Zambrano. They hypothesize that this is due to their family life and to being mothers.
