BELIZE GENDER SCORECARD 2025 OVERVIEW OF KEY GENDER GAPS While 32% of male tertiary For every young man out Boys are 7 percentage points graduates in Belize earn of employment, education, less likely than girls to degrees in STEM programs, or training, there are 2.4 complete lower secondary the share among women is young women in such education. only 13.5%. situation. Gender data remain scarce Adolescent fertility rate Women represent only in key areas, hampering is more than twice the 42% of total senior and policies to narrow gaps average rate of countries middle management between women and men, in the same income group. positions. boys and girls. This scorecard was prepared by Daniela A. Maquera Sardón and Paola Buitrago-Hernández as part of the LCR Regional Gender Coordination in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice. The tool benefited from support of the LAC Statistical Team within the same practice. GENDER EQUALITY IN BELIZE COMPARED TO ITS REGIONAL, STRUCTURAL AND ASPIRATIONAL PEERS The indicators below align with the objectives of the WB Gender Strategy 2024-2030. The table shows comparable data for the most recent year (within the period 2015 to 2023) and trends for the available years starting from 2010. Comparators for Benchmarking (all consider the latest data point available for the period 2015-2023): • Regional: average for the LAC region. • Structural: average for the country’s income-level group (high, upper-middle, lower-middle, or low income). • Aspirational: average of the top 5 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024 (Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden). Benchmarks Country’s status Topic Indicator Country Regional Structural Country’s trend Aspirational relative to LAC (LAC) (UMC) Foundational Well-being: Human Capital and Gender- Female graduates from tertiary education 13.5* 11.9† NA 14 in STEM programs (%) [2023] 2010 2014 2018 2022 STEM fields Male graduates from tertiary education in 32.2* 31.2† NA 40.3 STEM programs (%) [2023] Based Violence 2010 2014 2018 2022 Share of youth not in education, 34.8 employment or training, female (% of 25.4 NA 6.4 female youth population ages 15-24) [2019] School- 2010 2014 2018 2022 to-work transition Share of youth not in education, 14.7 employment or training, male (% of male 13.2 NA 6.9 youth population ages 15-24) [2019] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Benchmarks Country’s status Topic Indicator Country Regional Structural Country’s trend Aspirational relative to LAC (LAC) (UMC) Foundational Well-being: Human Capital and Gender-Based Lower secondary completion rate, female 72.1 76 90.8 98.2 (% of relevant age group) [2023] 2010 2014 2018 2022 School dropout Lower secondary completion rate, male (% 64.7 71.7 87.8 99.7 of relevant age group) [2023] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Violence Teenage Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 53.4 51.7 23.8 4.2 pregnancy women ages 15-19) [2022] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Violence Proportion of women subjected to physical against and/or sexual violence in the last 12 8 8.2† NA 5 women and months (% of ever-partnered women ages [2018] girls 15-49) 2010 2014 2018 2022 Economic Opportunities and Vulnerable employment (contributing family and own account), female 27.2 32.8 41.4 7.9 (% of female employment) (modeled ILO [2022] estimate) Participation 2010 2014 2018 2022 More and better jobs Vulnerable employment (contributing 24.3 family and own account), male (% of male 33 38.1 12 employment) (modeled ILO estimate) [2022] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Benchmarks Country’s status Topic Indicator Country Regional Structural Country’s trend Aspirational relative to LAC (LAC) (UMC) Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, NA 70.1 82.3 99.7 female (% of population ages 15+) Ownership 2010 2014 2018 2022 and control of productive assets Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, NA 77 86.3 99.3 male (% of population ages 15+) Economic Opportunities and Participation 2010 2014 2018 2022 Internet access from any device 89* and location, female (% of population 76.9† NA 97.8 ages 15+) [2024] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Digital inclusion Internet access from any device and 89* 78† NA 98.2 location, male (% of population ages 15+) [2024] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, female NA NA NA 14.1 (% of 24-hour day) Time spent on unpaid household work Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, male NA NA NA 10.7 (% of 24-hour day) Benchmarks Country’s status Topic Indicator Country Regional Structural Country’s trend Aspirational relative to LAC (LAC) (UMC) Women in Female share of employment in senior and 41.7 39.6† NA 37.7 Female Leadership management middle management (%) [2016] 2010 2014 2018 2022 Women Firms with female participation in NA 47.4 36.2 46.5 entrepreneurs ownership (% of firms) 2010 2014 2018 2022 Sources: Data extracted on December 18, 2024, from the WBG World Development Indicators (WDI) and Gender Statistics databases, unless otherwise specified. The symbol (*) indicates any of the following complementary sources: STEM-related data is sourced from the UNESCO Database, digital access data from the Gallup World Poll 2024, and Violence Against Women and Girls data from the World Health Organization (WHO). NA indicates data is not available for specific countries or peer groups. Notes: LAC average includes the 42 countries (all income levels) in Latin America and the Caribbean, as classified by The World Bank Group. When regional averages were unavailable, weighted averages were constructed (denoted with the symbol †) using population data of relevant age groups from the WDI and for the countries with available data on the corresponding indicator. These represent 90-99% of the respective age population in the LAC region. The country’s status is assessed using a Traffic Light System: yellow if the country is within a ±3 percentage-point range of the regional average; green or red if the country scores 3 percentage points higher or lower than the regional average, depending on the expected trend for the specified indicator. A missing traffic light indicates that comparisons could not be made due to insufficient data. For FY25, income groups are defined according to 2023 gross national income (GNI) per capita (in USD), calculated using the World Bank Atlas method: HIC: high-income group aggregate; economies with a GNI per capita higher than $14,005. UMC: upper middle-income group aggregate; economies with a GNI per capita between $4,516 and $14,005. LMC: lower middle-income group aggregate; economies with a GNI per capita between $1,146 and $4,515. LIC: low-income group aggregate; economies with a GNI per capita of $1,145 or less. THE POVERTY AND GENDER NEXUS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Female and male poverty rates (USD 6.85 per day 2017 PPP) by age group, circa 2023 50 During productive 40 and reproductive ages, women 30 are more likely to live in poor % 20 households than 10 men. 0 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+ Source: The numbers presented in the graph are based on the regional data harmonization effort known as the Socio-economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEDLAC) - a joint effort of the World Bank and CEDLAS from the National University of La Plata (Argentina). The LAC aggregate is based on 16 countries for which harmonized, income-based microdata for the years 2022 or 2023 were available. Countries included are: Argentina (urban only), Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. For some countries, the data is preliminary. TURNING RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE INTO ACTION Below are persistent gender gaps1 in LAC and corresponding evidence-based interventions that can help close them. Women in STEM Fields School-to-Work Transition Young women are more likely than young Women are underrepresented in STEM men to be out of employment, not in graduate programs and careers education or training Evidence-based solutions Evidence-based solutions • Promote women’s participation in non-traditional skills training programs by • Address gender biases in teaching and build a ‘science identity’ for girls. subsidizing attendance costs. • Expose young girls to female mentors and role models in STEM. • Supplement in-classroom training with on-the-job internships. • Fund female students and researchers through scholarships, postdocs, and internships • Strengthen labor intermediation with local and private entities for better training and to retain women in STEM careers. targeting of vulnerable women. Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported operations here. operations here. Boys’ School Dropout Teenage Pregnancy Fewer boys complete lower secondary Girls from lower socio-economic status face school than girls higher risk of teenage pregnancy Evidence-based solutions Evidence-based solutions • Inform boys on wage returns to secondary education to raise interest to stay in school. • Offer financial incentives like CCT or vouchers conditional to school attendance and • Offer peer-to-peer sexual and reproductive health education. academic progress. • Include goal-setting and critical thinking activities in life skills trainings. • Train teachers on how to identify at-risk students and offer remedial learning to those • Avoid teen mothers’ school dropout through CCT programs. falling behind. Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported operations here. operations here. 1 There are more gender gaps in LAC beyond the ones presented here. However, this scorecard focuses on the priority areas identified by the Regional Gender Action Plan FY21-FY25. Violence Against Women and Girls More and Better Jobs On average, 1 in 3 women In most LAC countries, the average woman are subjected to violence has a vulnerable job Evidence-based solutions Evidence-based solutions • Supplement economic empowerment programs with activities like community activism • Offer certification in non-traditional sectors, combined with on-the-job training. and school-based interventions to prevent dating violence. • Guarantee parental leave and equal pay for equal work between men and women. • Create and ensure safe spaces in schools and public transport. • Adopt workplace strategies that promote the recruitment of women such as quotas in • Develop intersectoral response as well as phone and internet helplines to improve the short lists and gender-inclusive language in job postings. prevention and detection of gender-based violence. Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported operations here. operations here. Ownership and Control of Productive Assets Women Entrepreneurs Women are less likely to own and control Women tend to segregate in less profitable assets than men sectors Evidence-based solutions Evidence-based solutions • Formalize joint titling and registration of property rights for female heads of • Combine business training with increased women’s access to grants and lending households. assistance. • Simplify procedures for women’s access to housing. • Match female entrepreneurs to male role models and mentors. • Train land administration staff on gender-equitable governance. • Expand women’s credit access using alternative forms of collateral. Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported operations here. operations here. Time Spent on Unpaid Household Work Digital inclusion Women spend significantly more time on Women face specific barriers to accessing unpaid domestic and care work than men the internet Evidence-based solutions Promising approaches • Expand digital infrastructure to address women’s specific needs in access, affordability • Expand the supply of good-quality childcare services that meet families’ needs and usage. (location, times, ages served). • Develop digital skills for girls and adult women through hands-on exposure to • Subsidize childcare services to increase mothers’ labor participation and earnings. technology and practical trainings. • Complement paternity or parental leave policies with parenting guidance for fathers • Promote women’s use of digital financial services through payments, social assistance, offered via virtual workshops and SMS messages. or agricultural transfers. Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported Find the policy note on this topic for more solutions and examples of WB-supported operations here. operations here. Gender data gaps Gender data are limited: often incomplete, methodologically inaccurate, or completely lacking. Evidence-based solutions • Mainstream the adoption of international best practices in the production of gender data. • Leverage existing engagements with National Statistical Offices regionally. COUNTRY RESOURCES Legislative and regulatory framework • Belize WBL – brief on laws and regulations affecting women’s economic opportunities Gender strategic framework • Belize Country Partnership Framework FY18-22 (2017) • Belize Systematic Country Diagnostic (2016) • Belize Gender Assessment (2016) Country-specific data and analysis • Belize WB Gender Landscape • Belize: Gender and Disaster Risk Management (2022) • Taking the Pulse of the Caribbean – Monitoring the Welfare of Caribbean Households During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Results from LAC High Frequency Phone Surveys (2022) • Gender-Responsive Disaster Preparedness and Recovery in the Caribbean: Desk Review (2021) • Supporting Recovery and Building Resilience in Belize: Enabling Rapid Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021) • Global Gender Gap Report 2022 – Global Economic Forum • Labor Force Survey – Statistical Institute of Belize • Gender Based Violence – Belize Crime Observatory • Belize Country Profile – Gender Equality Observatory, ECLAC • Belize Fact Sheet – UN WOMEN