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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report and the annexes attached, including the statistical information.

1. The Committee notes from the report that, for the period between 1993 and 1999, female employees in the public sector accounted for 20.7 per cent of the workforce and that their roles consisted mainly of assistance and support. The Government indicates that, despite the fact that the basic structure does not allow discrimination on grounds of sex, the situation is quite different in practice and that women workers in Bolivia, despite having a good level of training, enjoy little hope of gaining access to conditions of employment similar to those of men. Further, the number of women who succeed in obtaining important jobs, such as directors, managers, vice-ministers and ministers is so much lower than that of men that they sometimes appear to be an exception. The Government also recognizes that in 2000 only 8.5 per cent of women held higher level jobs. The Committee recalls that, while it is necessary to adopt legislative provisions which prohibit discrimination, it is also necessary to take practical measures to ensure equality of remuneration between men and women workers, and to put into practice public policies adopted by the State to reduce labour segregation on grounds of gender and to facilitate the integration of women into positions of responsibility. The Committee asks the Government to provide information, including statistics, on the distribution of men and women in the public service, disaggregated by their levels and occupations, as well as information on the policies that are envisaged to put into practice the principle of equal remuneration as set out in the Convention.

2. Furthermore, the Committee notes a similar situation as described above in the private sector, where female employees account for 19.41 per cent of the workforce and executive and managerial roles tend to be entrusted to men, with the percentage of women occupying higher level jobs being 18.5 per cent. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing information on the application in practice of the principle set out in the Convention in the private sector as well as the initiatives undertaken to promote women’s participation in the more highly remunerated jobs.

3. According to the National Statistical Institute (INE), the average hourly earnings (in Bolivianos) of women in 2000 were 74.49 per cent of the average hourly earnings of men. The sector in which the wage gap is widest is agriculture, stock-raising and hunting, where women earn 25.59 per cent of the average hourly earnings of men. In view of the fact that the participation rate of women in this sector is 42.66 per cent, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the occupations in this sector in which mainly women are engaged and on the measures that are being taken to promote equal remuneration for work of equal value between men and women workers engaged in these activities, particularly in rural areas.