This section presents regional recommendations aimed at promoting the reform and strengthening of regulatory frameworks in priority areas. These proposals are based on a comparative analysis of legislation across countries in the region and on international standards. They seek to guide States in adopting measures to remove structural barriers and reduce gender gaps, strengthening women’s economic empowerment and autonomy.

Maintaining and updating legislation in countries with robust regulatory frameworks to ensure proper implementation and enforcement, in line with C111.

Encouraging the development of specific regulations to promote effective equality in countries that recognise the principle but have yet to implement dedicated legal measures.

Reforming bodies of law to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender and to eliminate outdated or exclusionary language, in accordance with the obligations of C111.

The Ibero-American region has made significant progress in officially recognising equality, but regulatory gaps and a lack of legislative uniformity remain.

Full implementation of Convention No.111 requires states to formulate comprehensive policies, enact specific laws, review and update labour standards, and ensure their effective enforcement.

The promotion of proactive policies, equality plans, and affirmative measures, as recommended by C111, will be key to achieving substantive equality in employment and occupation.

Disclaimer

The existence of legislation on formal equality does not, in itself, guarantee real progress in women’s autonomy and well-being. The effectiveness of such laws depends on their implementation and enforcement, the resources allocated, and the political will to achieve substantive equality in employment and occupation.

Repealing provisions that prohibit women from accessing certain jobs or that establish special conditions (in terms of working hours, workload, participation in certain sectors of the economy) that are not covered by maternity or breastfeeding protections and that, in many cases, perpetuate a paternalistic view of women’s ability to work.

Although the region is making progress in formally recognising the right to choose employment freely, the persistence of restrictive regulations underscores the need for a comprehensive legislative review process. Removing these barriers and aligning regulations with international commitments will be essential to ensuring that women and men have equal access to all occupations and professions.

Disclaimer

Having provisions that recognise freedom of choice in employment does not necessarily guarantee that women can exercise this freedom on equal terms. The persistence of stereotypes and structural barriers, along with a lack of specific public policies, can limit effective access to freely chosen work. Furthermore, actual compliance with these regulations depends on their implementation and enforcement, the resources allocated, and the political will to achieve substantive equality in employment and occupation.

Reforming, in employment legislation, the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, as stipulated in ILO C100, in countries where it only applies to identical jobs. Additionally, revising any employment laws that are contradictory to the content of the Constitution to ensure regulatory consistency.

Although Ibero-America has taken important steps towards recognising equal pay, the full implementation of the principle of “equal pay for work of equal value” remains a challenge.

Disclaimer

The existence of laws on equal pay does not imply their effective enforcement. The pay gap persists across much of the region due to a lack of job evaluation mechanisms, oversight, and sanctions for structural inequalities.

Ensuring that all Ibero-American countries ratify and comply with ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection.

Extending the duration of maternity leave where the C183 standard (minimum of 14 weeks) is not met. 

Establishing that social security covers 100% of maternity leave for all workers.

Incorporating protection against dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave and while breastfeeding in countries where this protection is still partial.

Guaranteeing maternity leave coverage and benefits for all workers, including domestic and care workers and the self-employed.

Promoting parental leave schemes that encourage shared responsibility.

Although Ibero-America has made progress in recognising and protecting maternity, significant disparities in the duration of leave, financing and coverage persist. Consolidating and harmonising legislation, to ensure full implementation of C183, is key to eliminating barriers and guaranteeing equal treatment and opportunities for all working women.

Disclaimer

The existence of statutory maternity leave or protections does not in itself guarantee conditions that protect motherhood. Its impact depends on the coverage, funding and effectiveness in protecting against discrimination at work during pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding and the subsequent return to work.

Regulating the right to paternity leave in countries where it does not currently exist. 

Extending the duration of paternity leave to match that of maternity leave, in line with the principle of shared responsibility. Guaranteeing, while progress is being made towards this goal, a minimum of 10 days leave in countries that do not yet provide for them. 

Establishing that funding must be fully covered by social security, to avoid burdening companies, which could ultimately lead to discrimination against workers who take advantage of this leave.

Extending paternity leave benefits to all workers, including the self-employed.

Incorporating protection against dismissal during paternity leave, guaranteeing conditions of joint responsibility without reprisals.

Regulating parental leave so that a portion is reserved exclusively for fathers.

Although paternity leave is recognised in most Ibero-American countries, significant inequalities persist in terms of its effective use, duration, coverage and scope. Strengthening this right, in line with an approach based on equality and shared responsibility, is key to advancing gender equality in employment and transforming the social organisation of care in the region.

Disclaimer

The formal regulation of paternity leave does not ensure shared responsibility for caregiving. For it to be effective, it must be accompanied by measures that encourage its actual uptake, prevent workplace reprisals, and transform the sociocultural patterns that assign caregiving exclusively to women.

Making progress with the ratification and implementation of Convention 156 on workers with family responsibilities in all the Ibero-American States. 

Continuing to push for the recognition of the economic value of care work in national satellite accounts and public policies.

Establishing the right to long-term and emergency care leave, as well as guaranteeing remuneration for mothers and fathers.

Introducing paid breastfeeding leave.

Regulating work-life balance rights (reduced working hours, flexible working hours, teleworking) and ensuring that they are recognised for both women and men with dependent persons in their care.

Promoting corporate measures aimed at implementing care support infrastructure and services (such as breastfeeding rooms, nurseries and childcare services), ensuring minimum standards of quality and access.

Including provisions in legislation that promote the equitable distribution of care between women and men.

The region has made significant progress in recognising the right to care and developing work-life balance measures.  Recently, Advisory Opinion No. 31 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2025) set a new milestone by recognising care as an autonomous human right comprising three interdependent dimensions: the right to care, the right to be cared for, and the right to self-care. This recognition encourages the states to adopt regulatory frameworks and public policies that guarantee the comprehensive, universal and equal enjoyment of this right. 

In this context, the strengthening and institutionalisation of Comprehensive Care Systems (SIC) should be based on the 5Rs: recognising the social and economic value of care, reducing the disproportionate amount of time and effort invested by women, redistributing responsibilities between the state, the market, communities and households, remunerating care work adequately, and representing the interests and rights of those who provide and receive care.

The consolidation of comprehensive care policies and systems, financed and guaranteed by the state, together with the promotion of shared responsibility and equality, is essential if we are to reduce the disproportionate burden on women and enable everyone to participate fully in the labour market and the economy.

Disclaimer

The existence of regulations that reduce, redistribute, or recognise the right to care does not, in itself, guarantee the effective redistribution of this work between the state, the market, the community and households. The shift towards comprehensive, universal and high-quality care systems will require sustainable funding, social transformation and the political will to foster a care society.

Reviewing the contribution density to ensure it is proportional to retirement ages, differentiated by gender, and to ensure equal access to old-age pensions.

Incorporating mechanisms that recognise contributions for unpaid care work in all social security systems.

Extending access to social security to all types of workers, particularly domestic workers, self-employed workers and informal workers, guaranteeing adequate contributions and benefits.

The social security systems in Ibero-America have undergone significant advances, such as recognising maternity contributions and providing voluntary access for home-makers, although this is only available in some countries. Structural inequalities affecting women persist as a result of gendered laws, insufficient compensation for care work, and limited coverage for certain groups. Regulatory standardisation and the full implementation of substantive equality principles in pensions are essential to guarantee equal social security rights.

Disclaimer

The formal inclusion of women in social security systems does not guarantee equal access. Gaps in contributions, coverage, and the recognition of unpaid care work continue to hinder the achievement of substantive equality in social protection rights.

Advocating for the ratification and implementation of Convention 189 regarding domestic workers in all Ibero-American countries.

Incorporating domestic workers into social security systems on an equal footing with other workers, with pensions, unemployment benefits and long-term coverage.

Regulating working hours, breaks and paid holidays on equal terms, taking into account the particularities of domestic work.

Ensuring access to a regulated minimum wage.

Guaranteeing maternity leave for domestic workers under the same terms and conditions as for other workers.

Pushing for national labour inspection systems tailored to the specific nature of paid domestic work.

Paid domestic work in Ibero-America has seen significant regulatory advances, particularly since the entry into force of ILO Convention 189. However, domestic workers continue to face inequalities with respect to the rest of the workforce, stemming from partial exclusions from social security, wage disparities and inadequate regulation of working hours and rest periods. Achieving full equality in terms of employment and social rights is essential for domestic work to be recognised as decent employment and for substantive gender equality to be guaranteed in the region.

Disclaimer

The existence of legislation on paid domestic work does not guarantee the full exercise of employment rights. Structural barriers relating to gender, ethnic discrimination and socio-economic inequalities persist, limiting effective access to rights. Gaps in social security coverage, a lack of employment inspections, and ongoing stigmas continue to affect the recognition of this type of work as decent employment. To achieve substantive equality, we need comprehensive policies, sufficient funding, and mechanisms that foster social co-responsibility.

a. General regulation of the financial system

Promote regulatory reforms that incorporate gender equality as a guiding principle of the financial system and recognise women as a priority group. Incorporate the gender perspective into financial inclusion strategies, acknowledging the vulnerabilities women face and their impact on closing existing gaps.

Take proactive steps to ensure the participation of women in senior positions and on the boards of regulatory bodies and financial institutions.

Promote regulations to create and strengthen gender mainstreaming divisions within regulatory bodies. Make gender awareness training compulsory within regulatory bodies and financial institutions.

Promote the generation, use and periodic reporting of disaggregated data (gender, age, location, income, ethnicity) and gender-sensitive indicators for the design, implementation and evaluation of financial inclusion and education policies.

Strengthen financial consumer protection and access to information, with an inclusive approach.

Promote regulations that support women-led entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as specific financial and digital educational plans for women.

Apply anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws proportionally, in accordance with risk criteria, to avoid complex procedures and requirements for opening joint accounts.

b. Credit: supporting the development of regulations that make it easier for women and women-led businesses to access credit

Foster the implementation of regulations that provide for specific fiscal incentives for women and women-led businesses.

Foster the development of regulations that allow flexible guarantees and alternative creditworthiness assessment systems. Also, develop regulations for microcredit operations and cooperative activity.

Foster the development of regulations that govern alternative credit and financing platforms for business ventures, providing legal certainty for all parties involved. 

Foster the implementation of regulations that protect against usury.

c. Deposits and payments: fostering the development of regulations that allow women to open and maintain accounts with minimal requirements

Foster the development of regulations that allow the opening and maintenance of accounts with minimal requirements.

Foster regulations that encourage recipients of remittances to use banking services, with a priority focus on women.

Foster regulations that encourage recipients of government money transfers to use banking services, with a priority focus on women (for example, by directing these transfers to bank accounts, electronic wallets, etc.).

d. Fintech

Foster the development of specific regulations to promote the development of innovative female-led business ventures. 

Foster the development of regulations that authorise and simplify the use of electronic payment systems and promote the use of electronic signatures.

Foster the development of regulations that facilitate interoperability between different payment platforms.

Push for specific regulations or adapt the existing regulations on digital financial services (for the five fintech sub-sectors: crypto-assets, crowdfunding, open finance, trading and robo-advisors, and instant payment systems). Develop regulatory sandboxes and Fintech legislation. Consider, in those regulations, the specific barriers and needs that women face in accessing and using financial products and services.

Develop regulations that create spaces for financial innovation (e.g., financial innovation hubs).

Push for cybersecurity regulations to protect users in digital environments. 

While the countries in the region generally have basic regulatory frameworks that support financial inclusion and are rooted in constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination, significant gaps persist in developing regulations that promote financial inclusion from a gender perspective. Additionally, many key inclusion measures and procedures, such as simplified accounts, credit scoring models that disadvantage women, and the simplification and adaptation of procedures and requirements, lack legal standing because they are not enshrined in formal law. The lack of knowledge or recognition of gender dynamics masks the fact that standard services and products harbour barriers and biases that restrict women’s access to, and use of, financial products and services (UN Women, 2025). These challenges limit the effective scope of gender-focused financial inclusion.

Disclaimer

The existence of regulatory frameworks aimed at financial inclusion does not guarantee their effective implementation, nor does it ensure they will reduce gender gaps. Inequalities in accessing and using financial services and products persist in the region due to regulatory gaps, the weak legal hierarchy of some measures, a lack of focus on gender issues, and insufficient mechanisms for monitoring, supervision, and affirmative actions that promote financial inclusion.

Incorporating the gender perspective into legislation on digital transformation policies and policies linked to the promotion of the Economy¹, establishing principles, objectives, and implementation mechanisms that help reduce structural inequalities in the access to, use of, and production of digital technologies.

Fostering the development of specific standards for digital training and education that can be integrated with labour and economic inclusion policies in dynamic technology sectors.

Incorporating information on gender gaps into draft legislation and laws on digital inclusion. Revising universal access regulations to pinpoint gaps in connectivity, digital skills, and the involvement of women, along with their role in the technology value chain. 

Establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital training across the entire education system. From early childhood education to postgraduate level, promoting equitable participation in the digital ecosystem.

Promoting regulations that ensure gender equality in employment and business activities linked to the Knowledge Economy, including specific provisions on equality in roles, hierarchies, financing opportunities and equal pay conditions within companies.

¹ The Knowledge Economy encompasses sectors that focus on research and development, technology, and innovation. While there is no global consensus on the activities that constitute the knowledge economy, the two classifications most frequently used are the OECD classification of high-tech industries and the Eurostat classification of knowledge-intensive sectors (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Knowledge-intensive_services_(KIS)). In general, the activities included are: software and IT and digital services, biotechnology, nanotechnology, audiovisual activities, research and development services, electronics, Industry 4.0, the aerospace and satellite industry, etc.

Significant progress has been made in legislation to include women in various aspects of the Knowledge Economy. The 22 countries in the region have made progress in enacting legislation designed to ensure the inclusion of women in various aspects of the Knowledge Economy.

However, the revised regulations are, for the most part, declarative and fragmented, which calls for robust and sustained regulatory intervention by governments. This can be achieved through the implementation and financing of comprehensive public policies that guarantee real conditions of equality, and through a structural approach that enables progress toward the effective eradication of these gaps.

Disclaimer

The mere existence of regulatory frameworks intended to promote the inclusion of women in the Knowledge Economy does not, in itself, guarantee their access, training, and digital participation. Their effectiveness depends on the implementation of targeted public policies, clear implementation mechanisms, and the allocation of the resources needed to address digital gender gaps structurally.

Update and align laws on planning, public finances, and oversight so that mainstreaming gender perspectives into the budget is mandatory at all stages of the budget cycle, with clear responsibilities and compliance mechanisms for executing institutions.

Develop and standardise gender classifiers, markers and indicators that enable the identification, quantification and evaluation of public expenditure allocated to gender equality, accompanied by monitoring and evaluation systems with data disaggregated by sex.

Strengthen the roles of the legislature, supervisory bodies and citizen participation to ensure transparency, impact assessment and the correction of gender gaps in budgets.

In Ibero-America, most countries have adopted legal mandates to institutionalise the gender perspective in budgetary planning, execution and evaluation. The scope, depth and institutional anchoring of these mandates vary significantly between countries. In most cases, this institutionalisation has been restricted to laws related to women’s rights, public spending and finance planning, budget classifications and specific allocations for gender equality. To a lesser extent, provisions related to monitoring systems are also included, assigning responsibility for supervising the incorporation of the gender perspective to oversight bodies and the legislature.

Disclaimer:
The existence of legislation on the inclusion of the gender perspective in public budgets does not, in itself, guarantee a reduction in gender inequalities. Its effectiveness depends on proper implementation and monitoring. In other words, fiscal policy must be seen as a public policy tool that takes into account the different needs, rights and obligations of women and men; that considers the differentiated impact of spending; and that considers the social and economic roles assigned to women and men in the search for solutions to reduce inequalities.

Push for the ratification of and compliance with ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206.

Adopt regulatory provisions that broaden the definition of violence and harassment in the world of work and on the basis of gender, as well as the scope and field of application, ensuring the protection of all persons regardless of their contractual status. 

Regulate measures for protection, prevention, recourse and redress, the recognition of the effects of domestic violence in the workplace and the associated psychosocial risks, and incorporate comprehensive awareness-raising and training strategies into employment legislation on a tripartite basis.

ILO Convention 190 and its Recommendation 206 represent a regulatory milestone in recognising the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment, with an inclusive and gender-based approach. Regional analysis shows significant progress in the adoption of legal frameworks, especially in countries that have ratified the Convention, but also reveals major regulatory and implementation gaps. Challenges remaining include establishing a broad definition of violence and harassment in the world of work, extending its scope to all forms and environments of work, and incorporating a truly intersectional approach. In addition, mechanisms for prevention, protection, redress and awareness-raising remain inequitable and, in many cases, inadequate. In this context, it is essential that progress be made in ratifying pending instruments, in adapting national employment legislation, and in fully implementing the provisions of C. 190 and R. 206 to ensure effective protection for all workers.

Disclaimer

The existence of legislation that promotes a world of work free from violence and harassment does not, in itself, guarantee the absence of workplace violence and harassment against women.  Its effectiveness depends on the availability of a correct definition of workplace violence, accessible reporting mechanisms, and ongoing workplace awareness-raising and prevention. Furthermore, its implementation requires adequate resources, institutional will, and continuous monitoring to identify gaps, correct failures, and ensure that regulations translate into real protection practices.