The gender wage gap. A complex interplay of structural and organizational causes.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62451/rep.v4i3.212Keywords:
Pay gap, equal pay, wage discrimination, gender, womenAbstract
This article presents a systematic review of the scientific evidence on the gender wage gap in Ecuador and the Andean region during the period 2018‑2025, following the PRISMA 2020 methodology. Articles referenced in national and international journals from the SciELO, Redalyc, Latindex and Google Scholar databases were consulted. Empirical studies in Spanish or English that directly analyzed wage inequality were included. Of the 52 initial studies, after eliminating duplicates and applying criteria, 13 studies comprised the synthesis. The results show an unadjusted wage gap ranging from 20% to 35.6% to the detriment of women. Econometric decompositions reveal that less than half is explained by observable factors (education, experience, occupation) and that a significant residual component attributable to gender discrimination persists. Despite constitutional guarantees and ILO Conventions 100 and 111, the lack of effective oversight kept inequality almost unchanged until the enactment of the 2024 Equal Pay Act, which introduces control instruments that have not yet been evaluated. It is concluded that the gender pay gap in Ecuador and the Andean region is persistent, multidimensional, and has a high discriminatory component; therefore, the effectiveness of the law will depend on its rigorous implementation and future studies with an intersectional approach that guide and implement evidence based public policies.
References
Antón, J., Vera, J., Rodríguez, J., & Lara, N. (2020). Brecha salarial de género en los sectores público y privado del Ecuador. X-pedientes Económicos, 4(9), 47–67. https://ojs.supercias.gob.ec/index.php/X-pedientes_Economicos/article/view/49/47
Buele Rebolledo, M. L., & Espinoza-Espinoza, J. (2023). Neoconstitucionalismo como nueva visión del Estado de derecho. En J. Espinoza Espinoza (Comp.), Neoconstitucionalismo y tutela de los derechos fundamentales en el siglo XXI (pp. 17–39). Editorial Exced.
Burgo-Bencomo, O. B., López-Vera, J. G., & Morán-Molina. G. G. (2025). Economía familiar sostenible: cómo convertir la eficiencia en bienestar. Sophia Editions.
Cáceres, N., & Urbina, D. A. (2024). Determinantes de la desigualdad en la Comunidad Andina: Evidencia desde un panel VAR bayesiano. Lecturas de Economía, 99, 23–49. https://revistas.udea.edu.co/public/journals/recursos_html/le-Html/le-n99/0120-2596-le-99-209.html
Caria, S., & Yepez, J. (2025). The intersection between traditional roles and a fragmented labor market: A propensity score matching analysis of gender wage gap in Ecuador. Journal of Economic Studies, 52(4), 633–654. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-01-2024-0002
Ecuador. Asamblea Nacional Constituyente. (2008). Constitución de la República del Ecuador. Registro Oficial No. 449. https://www.defensa.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2021/02/Constitucion-de-la-Republica-del-Ecuador_act_ene-2021.pdf
Ecuador. Asamblea Nacional. (2024). Ley Orgánica para la Igualdad Salarial entre Mujeres y Hombres. Registro Oficial Suplemento No. 481. https://www.uasb.edu.ec/observatorio-pyme/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/registro_oficial_-_ley_organica_para_la_igualdad_salarial.pdf
Ecuador. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. (2024). Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Desempleo y Subempleo (ENEMDU): Anual 2023. https://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/documentos/web-inec/EMPLEO/2023/anual/Boletin_tecnico_anual_enero-diciembre_2023.pdf
Espinoza Estrella, B., Villaruel Meythaler, R., & Quintana Saldarriaga, Y. (2019). Discriminación salarial ecuatoriana por razón de género y autoidentificación. Revista Economía, 71(113), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.29166/economia.v71i113.2089
Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado del Cantón Pasaje. (2023). La remuneración mensual por puesto. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xnEfH0W7GFNtZt3G96dAPqrmwdYtgpKE/view
Jaramillo Vargas, M. I., & Villalva Fonseca, D. G. (2022). Igualdad y no discriminación en el derecho al trabajo en el ámbito público y privado. Universidad y Sociedad, 14(S6), 437–447. https://rus.ucf.edu.cu/index.php/rus/article/view/3475
Linthon-Delgado, D. E., & Méndez-Heras, L. B. (2022). Descomposición de la brecha salarial de género en el Ecuador. Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas, 17(1), e706. https://doi.org/10.21919/remef.v17i1.706
Medina, R., Valarezo, J., & Romero, C. (2021). Fundamentos epistemológicos del neoconstitucionalismo latinoamericano: Aciertos y desaciertos en su regulación jurídica y aplicación práctica en Ecuador. Sociedad & Tecnología, 4(S1), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.51247/st.v4iS1.130
Organización Internacional del Trabajo. (1951). Convenio sobre igualdad de remuneración (núm. 100). https://www.ilo.org/es/media/325491/download
Organización Internacional del Trabajo. (1958). Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación) (núm. 111). https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/es/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312256
Pachano Zurita, A. C., & Molina Torres, M. V. (2021). La discriminación laboral por género en Ecuador. Revista Metropolitana de Ciencias Aplicadas, 5(1), 179–186. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/7217/721778113022.pdf
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., McGuinness, L. A., Stewart, L. A., Thomas, J., Tricco, A. C., Welch, V. A., Whiting, P., Moher, D., Yepes-Nuñez, J. J., Urrutia, G., Romero-García, M., & Alonso-Fernández, S. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. PLoS Medicine, 18(3), e1003583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583
Sánchez Cañar, P. (2021). Discriminación y desigualdad salarial: Exploración de brechas por género en Ecuador. Revista Científica y Tecnológica UPSE, 8(1), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.26423/rctu.v8i1.544
Tamayo, D. A., Palacios, J. C., & Puebla, D. (2018). Heterogeneidad en los puestos de trabajo y la reducción de la desigualdad salarial en Ecuador. Analítika: Revista de Análisis Estadístico, 15(1), 7–36. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=7291142
Tarazona Jiménez, J. J., Yslado Méndez, R. M., Huamán Maguiña, L. L., Beltrán Castillo, K. del P., & Figueroa Delgado, I. G. (2025). Evolución de la brecha salarial de género en el Perú. Revista InveCom, 5(2), e502044. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13334737
Vásquez Fernández, B. J. (2019). Percepción sobre la brecha salarial de género en la ciudad de Tarija–Bolivia. YACHANA Revista Científica, 8(2), 13–26. http://revistas.ulvr.edu.ec/index.php/yachana/article/view/595
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Germania Bertila Vivanco-Vargas, Juan Alcívar Sarango-Rodríguez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Episteme & Praxis agree to the following terms:
1. Copyright
Authors retain unrestricted copyright to their work. Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. To this end, they assign the journal non-exclusive exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation). Authors may enter into additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal, provided that acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal is given.
© The authors.
2. License
The articles are published in the journal under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The terms can be found at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
This license allows:
- Sharing: Copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format.
- Adapting: Remixing, transforming, and building upon the material.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if any changes were made. You may do this in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses or sponsors your use.
- NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your creation under the same license as the original work.
There are no additional restrictions. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
