REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

ISSN: 1576-0162

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33776/rem.v0i68.8236

STEM AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE:

THE CASES OF BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

STEM Y COMERCIO INTERNACIONAL EN CLAVE DE GÉNERO:

LOS CASOS DE BRASIL, CHILE Y MÉXICO

Bruno Blanco-Varela

b.blanco.varela@usc.es

Department of Quantitative Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business

Studies, ICEDE Research Group, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Hugo Campos-Romero

hugo.campos.romero@usc.es

Department of Quantitative Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business

Studies, ICEDE Research Group, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

José Manuel Amoedo

jm.amoedo@usc.es

IDepartment of Quantitative Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business

Studies, ICEDE Research Group, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Recibido: abril 2024; aceptado: noviembre 2024

ABSTRACT

The development of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics) careers in Latin America plays a critical role in fostering

technological progress and innovation, thereby enhancing economic growth

and competitiveness through trade, which, in turn, stimulates investments in

R&D. This study explores the inﬂuence of economic opportunities presented

by international trade on the gender gap among STEM-trained professionals.

The ﬁndings reveal that exports of high-value-added services contribute

positively to the labour market inclusion of women. Despite this progress,

gender segregation continues to be a major barrier to bridging the gender gap,

indicating a persistent adherence to traditional gender roles.

Keywords: Gender gap; international trade; employment; gender roles;

technology intensity; Latin America.

RESUMEN

El avance de las carreras STEM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y

Matemáticas) en Latinoamérica es clave para el desarrollo tecnológico y

la innovación, potenciando la economía y la competitividad a través del

comercio, que fomenta la inversión en I+D. Este estudio examina el impacto

de las oportunidades económicas del comercio internacional en la brecha de

género de los profesionales formados en STEM. Los resultados señalan que

las exportaciones de servicios de alto valor añadido favorecen la inclusión

laboral de las mujeres. No obstante, la segregación de género sigue siendo un

obstáculo signiﬁcativo para cerrar esta brecha y maniﬁesta una persistencia de

los roles de género.

Palabras clave: Brecha de género; comercio internacional; empleo; roles

de género; intensidad tecnológica; Latinoamérica.

JEL Classiﬁcation/ Clasiﬁcación JEL: F14; J16; J21; J78.

REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

1. INTRODUCTION

According to UNESCO (2019), in Latin America women represent less than

30-40% of total enrolments in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics) ﬁelds. This underrepresentation extends to the research domain,

highlighting a persistent gender disparity in professions with the highest value-

added and signiﬁcant potential for economic progress in the region. STEM

ﬁelds play a pivotal role in Latin America’s development, as fostering high

technology-intensive and knowledge-intensive economic activities is crucial

for transitioning from economies reliant on the exploitation and export of

raw materials to more diversiﬁed economies, emphasizing industry and

advanced services. This transition is vital for enhancing the region’s economic

resilience, diminishing its vulnerability in global markets, and increasing its

competitiveness in international trade. Nevertheless, promoting STEM must

confront the substantial gender gap within these ﬁelds. An essential aspect

to consider for STEM improvement and narrowing the gender gap is the

economy’s dynamism, especially through foreign trade in high value-added

sectors. This could serve as a catalyst for high-tech and knowledge-intensive

sectors, which have a notably high concentration of STEM occupations.

Nevertheless, both the gender gap in STEM disciplines and its

interconnection with foreign trade in Latin America remain largely unexplored

in academic literature. Regarding the former, while there is a large body

of qualitative research highlighting the persistent gender gap in women’s

participation in STEM ﬁelds and identifying key socio-cultural determinants,

many studies fall short of examining the implications of these factors on the

region’s economic development. Concerning the latter, although the nexus

between the gender gap and foreign trade is well-documented in scholarly

works, its application to the Latin American scenario, particularly in relation

to STEM ﬁelds and sectors classiﬁed by their technological and knowledge

intensity, is notably limited, if not altogether absent.

The aim of this paper is the exploration of the interaction between the

gender gap in STEM disciplines and international trade in Latin America.

This analysis is divided into several speciﬁc objectives: ﬁrst, it examines the

evolution and role of STEM disciplines in international trade in the Latin

American context. Second, it examines the participation of women in STEM

jobs within the labour market, assessing their representation in these ﬁelds

70 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

and determining whether high value-added exports act as a factor mitigating

the gender gap in STEM ﬁelds.

Regarding the methodology, the analysis begins with a quantitative

approach, utilizing microdata from surveys on living conditions across various

countries. For Brazil, the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) is

employed; for Chile, the Encuesta de Caracterización Socioeconómica Nacional

(CASEN) is used; and for México, the data source is the Encuesta Nacional de

Ingresos Gastos de los Hogares (ENIGH). This strategy enables an estimation

of gender participation in STEM disciplines. This dataset is then augmented

with international trade data from the Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database,

2023 edition, provided by the OECD. Speciﬁcally, we examine exports of

domestic value-added (DVA) categorized by their technology and knowledge

intensity. Additional pertinent variables are sourced from The World Bank. To

evaluate the impact of these variables on the gender gap in STEM ﬁelds, we

apply various econometric models using panel data for our estimations. The

choice of these three countries is justiﬁed ﬁrstly by their representativeness for

the Latin American economy as a whole: according to Economic Commission

for Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil, Chile and Mexico accounted for

around 63% of the region’s GDP in 2023. Secondly, because of the size of

their employment statistics, which include a broad breakdown of different

occupations and are standardised across the three cases. Finally, it can also be

justiﬁed on the basis of previous literature, where these three countries have

already been used as a basis for analysing social and economic dynamics in

Latin America and the Caribbean (Aulakh et al., 2000; de Mello and Moccero,

2011; Mellado et al., 2012; Pamplona et al., 2016).

This work offers several contributions. First, it improves on the existing

literature by providing a study on the relationship between the gender gap

and international trade in STEM. Furthermore, it examines how economic

opportunities arising from foreign trade in value-added might be distributed

in a gender-biased way within the Latin American context, due to embedded

cultural barriers.

The paper is organized in four sections, following this Introduction. Section

2 reviews the most relevant literature on STEM and its link with the gender gap

and foreign trade in Latin American. Section 3 outlines the main data sources

and the methodology employed. Section 4 presents and discusses the key

ﬁndings of the research. Finally, Section 5 summarizes the main conclusions.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

The global context presents a signiﬁcant challenge in terms of women’s

involvement in STEM ﬁelds and the Information and Communication

Technologies (ICT) sector. These competencies are increasingly recognized as

crucial, as evidenced in the “Future of Jobs 2020 Report,” which underscores

the signiﬁcance of e-learning and digital skills amidst the pandemic and the

fourth industrial revolution (Siekmann, 2016; World Economic Forum, 2020).

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REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

Despite this, female participation in education within these ﬁelds remains

low, potentially perpetuating the gender gap across various professions and

yielding lower educational returns in the medium term. Moreover, this situation

perpetuates the dominant role of men in the most relevant activities regarding

value generation in current markets (Delgado Cadena, 2020; Rodríguez and

Nájera, 2015).

This sexual segregation between economic activities has been explained on

several occasions by differences in educational performance and aspirations

between boys and girls in STEM. Gender segregation is analysed not only in

the labour market, but also in education, especially given that choices made in

the early stages of education have a direct impact on choices made in higher

education and later in the labour market. In this sense, the results of educational

achievement surveys show that women are particularly good at reading,

while men are particularly good at mathematics. This, together with gender

stereotypes, is an additional factor in the gender gap in STEM occupations.

However, these differences in cognitive skills are revealed to be small and, to a

large extent, the result of the speciﬁc sociocultural context –the family– and

general –the country’s level of development. In other words, these differences

are largely due to social roles and gender stereotypes (Reilly, 2012). It has also

been found that these early differences permeate into further stages of life,

reinforcing gender differences (Maurer, 2011).

In the Latin American context, educational systems have failed to provide

equitable and quality education, even women with similar levels of education

to men receive lower wages, which perpetuates existing inequalities (Atal et

al., 2009; Ñopo et al., 2010). In addition to differences in education, there

are several factors that, according to Esteve et al. (2022), should be taken into

consideration to understand the gender gap in this context. First, the high level

of informality in the labour market, which signiﬁcantly inﬂuences household

structure and family formation patterns. Second, violence, in a broad sense,

including forced displacement and violence against women. And third, the role

of the extended family, which plays an important role in the region, serving

as an essential support network in contexts of scarce social protection and

in those regions with greater economic challenges. It is also noted that within

the family, different roles are articulated according to gender stereotypes.

In addition to these factors, Desposato and Norrander (2009) also highlight

factors such as the inclusion of women in decision-making positions and the

level of political freedoms in each territory.

Regarding female participation in STEM ﬁelds, the literature points out

several access barriers, mostly of a sociocultural nature, such as “personal

preferences, stereotypes, lack of role models, and cultural norms impact

women’s choices in higher education, while gender-biased recruitment, hiring

and evaluation processes, restrictive regulations and norms, exclusion from

networks, male-dominated culture, and work-family” (Tacsir et al., 2014,

p. 25). Moreover, women face additional barriers such as lack of access

to information, funding, poor institutional support, and low professional

72 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

recognition (Arredondo Trapero et al., 2019; Marinova et al., 2022; Osorio et

al., 2020; Verdugo-Castro et al., 2021).

Another relevant factor in the analysis of the gender gap is foreign trade.

Since the late 1990s, international trade has been studied as an element

leading to a reduction or increase in inequalities, including gender disparities.

Initially, greater trade openness can lead to a situation of greater gender

equality to the extent that external integration leads to an overall increase

in employment levels (Almasifard, 2018; Al-Nimri et al., 2023; Benguria and

Ederington, 2023; Black and Brainerd, 2004; Sepehrivand, 2017). To the

extent that the available labour force is mostly female, a relatively higher

increase in the number of female employees could be expected. However,

these positive effects of integration into foreign markets resulting from a higher

overall level of occupation are not clear, insofar as the gender gap needs to be

understood from a multidimensional perspective (Tekgüç and Akbulut, 2022;

Vicente and Muñiz, 2021; Zhang et al., 2022).

Aguayo-Téllez (2012) provides an interesting literature review on this topic,

which also includes some contributions analysing the Latin American context.

The results show that the trend towards trade liberalisation and the promotion

of FDI inﬂows have created new employment opportunities, especially in

activities that require a speciﬁc skill level. With regard to the gender gap, income

inequality has decreased. On the employment side, however, inequalities have

increased due to pre-existing differences in educational attainment between

the sexes (Artecona and Cunningham, 2002; Villalobos and Grossman, 2008).

Seguino (2006) has taken a broader approach by considering not only measures

of employment but also well-being through health and education indicators.

The results of the study show that international trade leads to contradictory

effects. On the one hand, trade openness increases employment opportunities

for women. On the other hand, it tends to exacerbate existing inequalities.

More recently, Korinek et al. (2021) show the impact of trade on gender

inequality from several perspectives. In general, women face higher barriers to

entry into global markets and are concentrated in lower value-added sectors.

In the speciﬁc context of Latin America, the study points to signiﬁcant barriers

for women, such as relatively greater difﬁculties in accessing credit and more

time spent on caregiving. In the case of Mexico, Ben Yahmed and Bombarda

(2020) also ﬁnd multiple effects of trade integration on the gender gap. On

the one hand, trade openness favours job creation. On the other hand, it is

particularly detrimental to less educated women, who continue to rely heavily

on informal employment.

Some of these trends differ from those observed in developed countries.

Several papers have also identiﬁed a gender gap in sectors integrated into

global markets, especially in terms of women’s participation and women’s

wages (Artecona and Cunningham, 2002; Kutlina-Dimitrova et al., 2022; Saure

and Zoabi, 2014). However, there are also important differences with respect

to Latin American economies. First, because the degree of informality in the

labour markets of developed economies is signiﬁcantly lower. Second, because

STEM AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: THE CASES OF BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

the gender gap in tertiary education is also smaller. With regard to this second

point, it should be clariﬁed that although the number of women enrolled in

higher education is similar to that of men in the economies of the global North,

there are also signiﬁcant differences in enrolment in STEM subjects (European

Commission, 2022; Evagorou et al., 2024). Based on the previous literature,

we can establish the following hypothesis.

H1. HIGHER INTEGRATION INTO FOREIGN MARKETS LEADS TO AN INCREASING GENDER GAP

In this sense, the study of the gender gap must incorporate additional

factors to the evolution of the employment level, such as the role played by

women in management positions, the evolution of birth rates in the population

in conjunction with the gender role associated with women in terms of

childcare, the level of access to higher education and, in line with what was

commented above and more in relation to labour markets, the role played by

women in STEM branches, both in terms of their participation in employment

and the evolution of these sectors in the national context and in relation to

their insertion in global markets (Haveman and Beresford, 2012; Kräft, 2022).

Promoting STEM activities can play a key role in reducing the gender

gap in Latin American labor markets, essentially by designing policies

that lead to greater female participation in these areas. To understand the

underrepresentation of women in STEM sectors, we must start from family

and socio-cultural environments. First, it should be noted that, in the Latin

American context, the number of women enrolled in higher education is similar

to or higher than the number of men. However, this parity is not reﬂected in

STEM areas (García-Holgado et al., 2020; García-Peñalvo et al., 2022). Second,

we must consider the role played by personal preferences when choosing

higher education studies, preferences that are deeply determined by gender

stereotypes, the sociocultural environment, and the family environment (Wang

and Degol, 2017). And, thirdly, we must stop considering biological differences

between the sexes as a possible explanatory factor, insofar as the literature

shows, by consensus, little evidence along these lines.

Regarding the relationship between STEM ﬁelds, gender gaps and global

markets, recent studies highlight that while international trade has the potential

to drive economic growth and innovation, it can also interact with inequalities,

including STEM-related activities. For example, Farokhi (2015) emphasizes the

necessity of developing a STEM-based economy in countries with less economic

resources to bridge the economic divide and enhance global competitiveness.

This is essential for retaining skilled STEM workers and preventing the migration

of talent to developed countries. Bruno and Faggini (2021) further elucidate

that export-led economies, which beneﬁt from a positive balance of trade,

tend to offer more job opportunities, thereby increasing the opportunity cost

of higher education and discouraging enrolments in STEM ﬁelds due to the

higher availability of jobs. Campillay (2024) provides one of the few papers

linking STEM, international trade and gender inequality. The paper identiﬁes

74 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

signiﬁcant barriers faced by women-led STEM in medium sized enterprises

in Chile, including gender biases, work-life balance challenges, and limited

access to ﬁnancing. These barriers hinder the full participation of women in

international trade and highlight the importance of gender-sensitive trade

policies. However, this relationship, incorporating the gender gap in STEM

ﬁelds, has not been explored extensively in the literature.

Nontheless, both elements are intertwined based on the analysis of the

technological and knowledge intensity of exports. In this sense, several papers

point to signiﬁcant disparities in sex segregation between productive sectors,

with different representations between men and women depending on the

subset of sectors of activity attending to their technological intensity (Morais

Maceira, 2017). However, the role played by these exports, particularly from

a value-added perspective, in reducing the gender gap are a scarcely analysed

factor (Campos-Romero and Blanco-Varela, 2023), especially in the Latin

American context. This may be due to their historical dependence on external

technology and their clear extractives productive orientation (Alvarado et al.,

2017; Rodil Marzábal and Martín Ruiz, 2021). In this respect, the higher share

of industry in economic activity in the case of Mexico compared to Brazil and

Chile should be taken into account. With this in mind, we can formulate the

second hypothesis of the study.

H2. HIGHER VALUE-ADDED FOREIGN TRADE LEADS TO A LOWER GENDER GAP IN STEM

EMPLOYMENT

In summary, the literature shows that trade liberalisation can increase

employment opportunities for women, but can also exacerbate existing

inequalities. In Latin America, trade and FDI inﬂows have created new

employment opportunities but increased employment inequalities due to pre-

existing gender and educational gaps. Developed countries have lower labour

market informality and smaller gender gaps in tertiary education, although

signiﬁcant differences in STEM enrolment persist. Policies that promote

women’s participation in STEM can help reduce the gender gap in Latin

American labour markets.

3. DATA AND METHODOLOGY

This section outlines the data and methodologies employed to examine

the gender gap in STEM disciplines within Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. The data

analysis utilizes quantitative methodologies, including descriptive analysis

and regression models. This analytical approach enables the identiﬁcation

of patterns and trends in women’s participation in STEM disciplines across

these countries, as well as an exploration of the potential causes and factors

inﬂuencing this participation.

To gather employment-related indicators for Brazil, Chile, and Mexico,

speciﬁcally to analyse the employment and gender gap within STEM ﬁelds,

STEM AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: THE CASES OF BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

we utilized microdata from national surveys in these countries. These surveys

typically assess household living conditions, offering insights into the sector

of activity and speciﬁc occupations. For Brazil, the Pesquisa Nacional por

Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) was utilized. In Chile, the analysis was based on

the Encuesta de Caracterización Socioeconómica (CASEN), and for Mexico, the

Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de Hogares (ENIGH) was employed.

The PNAD provides annual data, whereas the CASEN and ENIGH conduct

surveys biennially, necessitating the imputation of data for certain years.

Speciﬁcally, for Chile, data were available for the years 2011, 2013, 2015,

and 20171; for Mexico, the microdata covered the years 2012, 2014, 2016,

and 2018. Regarding data imputation, two criteria were adopted to best

approximate the trend of the variables: if data for both the preceding and

subsequent years were available, we imputed the average of these two years.

If subsequent year data were unavailable, the value from the previous year was

adjusted by the average annual rate of change observed in preceding years.

To classify an individual as employed in a STEM ﬁeld, we rely on the

occupation classiﬁcations provided by each national survey. The speciﬁc

occupations deemed as STEM in each country are detailed in Table A1 in

Appendix. Furthermore, when available, we utilize the survey weighting factors

to ensure that our ﬁndings are representative of the broader society.

For analysing the impact of exports, speciﬁcally high and medium-high

technology exports, and knowledge-intensive services exports, both in terms

of DVA2, we conduct four panel data estimations with the following structure:

(1)

Where GAPi represents the different gap measures that we propose in each

model. GAPE quantiﬁes the ratio of female to male employment across the

entire economy. GAPST considers the gender gap across STEM occupations.

GAPSTM, and GAPSTS speciﬁcally measure the gender gap within the

manufacturing and services sectors, respectively. TEXP represents domestic

value-added of high and medium-high in technological intensity goods exports,

whereas KIEXP denotes domestic value-added knowledge-intensive services

exports. DUNCAN assesses the Duncan index of the economy, which serves as

an indicator of gender segregation within the labour market. FR denotes the

fertility rate, and PROD refers to the productivity of the economy, calculated as

the ratio of total output to the number of employed individuals. The Duncan, a

metric of gender segregation, is determined as follows:

(2)

1 Data from Chile for the year 2020 have not been used because it is highly conditioned by the

COVID-19 pandemic.

2 See tables A2 and A3 in the Appendix for technology-intensity manufacturing classiﬁcation and

knowledge-intensity services classiﬁcation respectively.

76 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

Where Fij and Mij are female and male employment, respectively, in sector

i and occupation j, with F and M being total female and male employment,

respectively. This index ranges between 0 and 1, representing the proportion

of individuals who would need to change occupations to avoid gender

segregation within the labour market. A value closer to 0 indicates minimal

or no segregation. Following the Hausman test outcomes, the estimations are

conducted using a speciﬁcation based on a ﬁxed effects model. Finally, Table

1 outlines the descriptive statistics, deﬁnitions, and sources for each variable

included in the estimation.

TABLE 1. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS. N. OF OBSERVATIONS: 240

Mean Std. Dev. Min Max Deﬁnition Source

GAPE 0.7 0.03 0.64 0.75 Female to male

employment for the

total economy, STEM

occupations, and STEM

occupations in manu-

facturing and services

Own elaboration from

PNAD (Brazil), CASEN

(Chile), and ENIGH

(Mexico)

GAPST 0.6 0.17 0.29 0.8

GAPSTM 0.21 0.05 0.09 0.29

GAPSTS 0.8 0.23 0.37 1.05

DUNCAN 0.58 0.07 0.49 0.73 Duncan index in STEM

employment

TEXP 37.98 23.03 12.11 69.59

High and medium-high

DVA exports as a share

of total industry DVA

exported (%) Own elaboration from

TiVA, OECD (2023

edition)

KIEXP 17.77 10.06 3.96 30.92

Knowledge intensive

services DVA exports as

a share of total services

DVA exported (%)

PROD 337522.1 420592.1 23513.45 987021.2 Total output to total

employment ratio

Own elaboration from

TiVA (OECD, 2023

edition), and The World

Bank

FR 1.85 0.22 1.55 2.29 Fertility rate (%) The World Bank

Source: Authors from PNAD, CASEN, ENIGH, TiVA (OECD, 2023 edition), and The World Bank.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

This section presents a descriptive analysis of gender gaps, value-added

exports, and gender labour segregation within Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.

Accordingly, FIGURE 1 depicts the gender gap, represented by the ratio of

women to men, across four dimensions: the country gap, the STEM ﬁelds gap,

and the STEM ﬁelds gap within the manufacturing and services sectors.

In Brazil and Chile, the overall STEM disciplines gender gap mirrors the

general country gap throughout the analysed period. Conversely, Mexico

exhibits a different scenario, where the gender gap in STEM ﬁelds is twice

the size of the overall country gap. Apart from construction, in all three

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countries, the most signiﬁcant gender gap is found in the proportion of women

employed in the manufacturing sector. This discrepancy is mitigated by a

higher representation of women in STEM-related jobs within the service sector

in Brazil and Chile, with the former even showing an increased proportion of

women from 2017 to 2019. Mexico, however, presents a different pattern,

with a larger gender gap in services compared to the economy at large. The

general trend over the period indicates a gradual narrowing of these gaps,

with the smallest gap seen in STEM services. Nevertheless, the three countries

analysed exhibit a persistent and widespread gender gap, the effects of which

are reduced among service activities.

FIGURE 1. GENDER GAP IN BRAZIL, CHILE, AND MEXICO, 2012-2019

Source: Authors from PNAD, ENIGH, and ECSN.

78 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

Figure 2 represent the degree of sex segregation, as quantiﬁed by

Duncan’s index (see Expression (2)), across Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. The

trend in segregation is analysed by considering the entire economy as well as

speciﬁcally within STEM activities, for the years 2012 and 2019. The ﬁndings

indicate that segregation was more pronounced in 2012 compared to 2019.

In Brazil and Chile, segregation levels are observed to be higher across the

entire economy than within STEM disciplines. This pattern does not hold in

Mexico, where the STEM ﬁelds, particularly those that are most innovative,

exhibit greater levels of segregation.

FIGURE 2. DUNCAN INDEX FOR TOTAL EMPLOYMENT (DIG), AND FOR STEM EMPLOYMENT (DIGST)

Source: Authors from PNAD, ENIGH, and ECSN.

To conclude the descriptive analysis, Figure 3 illustrates the proportion of

high and medium-high technology exports within total manufacturing exports,

as well as the share of knowledge-intensive services exports within total services

exports, all measured in terms of DVA. Throughout the observed period, the

export proﬁles of these countries exhibit no signiﬁcant changes. Notably, the

technological proﬁle of manufacturing exports from Brazil and Chile is low,

whereas in Mexico, such exports constitute approximately 70% of total DVA

exports. This discrepancy can be attributed to Mexico’s deeper integration into

the North American value chain, particularly within the automotive sector. In

terms of services, none of the three countries demonstrate signiﬁcant exports

in knowledge-intensive services, with Mexico especially lagging, where these

account for barely 4% of the total.

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FIGURE 3. SHARE OF HIGH AND MEDIUM-HIGH DVA EXPORTS TO TOTAL INDUSTRY DVA EXPORTED (TECHNOLOGY)

AND SHARE OF INTENSIVE SERVICES DVA EXPORTS TO TOTAL SERVICES DVA EXPORTED (KIS)

Source: Authors from TiVA (OECD, 2023 edition).

These ﬁndings underscore the limited encouragement for higher value-

generating tasks in these countries, which, except for Mexico, continue to

show extractivist tendencies in their approach to foreign trade integration.

This situation could impede the advancement of more STEM-related activities.

The following subsection presents the results of the estimates presented in

Expression (1).

4.2. ECONOMETRIC RESULTS

This subsection shows the primary outcomes of the four panel data

estimations for Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Based on the ﬁndings of the Hausman

test, we follow a ﬁxed-effect estimation strategy (see Table 3). These results offer

a nuanced view of the employment gender gap, both in general terms across

the entire economy (GAPE) and within STEM disciplines (GAPST). Further, this

gap is decomposed into two distinct components: the gap in manufacturing

STEM disciplines (GAPSTM) and the gap in services (GAPSTS), which represent

the more innovative sectors of the economy. This differentiation is useful and

necessary because of the multidimensional nature with which the gender gap

must be addressed. (Morales Inga and Morales Tristán, 2020).

Regarding GAPE, the analysis reveals that TEXP exerts a signiﬁcant negative

impact, suggesting that an increase in technology-intensive exports could

result in a higher gender gap within the economy. This outcome is attributed to

the pronounced gender segregation across various sectors, notably due to the

diminished participation of women in manufacturing activities. Consequently,

an increase in industrial activity, driven by a surge in manufacturing exports,

would, all else being equal, lead to a comparatively greater rise in male

80 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

employment. Furthermore, the fertility rate demonstrates a signiﬁcant negative

effect, indicating that higher fertility levels may intensify the employment

gender gap. This could be attributed to the societal roles of women, especially

regarding household and caregiving responsibilities (Berniell et al., 2021,

2023). The results of this model lead us to verify H1, although this result can

and should be qualiﬁed depending on the sectors and occupations considered,

as well as the trade ﬂow, as shown below.

In relation to GAPST, the results show that KEXP has a statistically

signiﬁcant impact in reducing the gender gap. Conversely, TEXP and DUNCAN

exhibit negative effects, suggesting that exports of higher technological value

and gender segregation in the labour market substantially contribute to the

gender gap within STEM ﬁelds. Consequently, the sexual division of labour acts

as an impediment to women’s entry into STEM occupations, and the exports

of high- and medium-high-technology have a detrimental effect on enhancing

women’s participation in these sectors (Lara-Prieto et al., 2023). This leads

to diminished economic opportunities for women in terms of straightforward

labour market involvement compared to men.

In the GAPSTM model, which speciﬁcally examines the gender gap in STEM

manufacturing activities, the variables that exert the most signiﬁcant impact

on female labour participation are DUNCAN and FR, exhibiting positive and

negative coefﬁcients, respectively. This ﬁnding suggests that occupational

segregation hinders women’s access to employment opportunities in STEM

manufacturing ﬁelds. Conversely, a higher fertility rate is correlated with

increased job entry rates for women in these sectors.

The divergent impacts of fertility on GAPE (which exacerbates the gender

gap in overall employment) and GAPSTM (where it is associated with a

reduction in the gender gap within STEM ﬁelds) can be explained by examining

the interplay of socio-economic, cultural, and labour policy contexts. On the

one hand, the negative effect on GAPE might stem from the traditionally

higher caregiving responsibilities associated with a higher fertility rate, which

could restrict women’s participation in the labour market. In this analysis, the

entire female labour market is considered, encompassing jobs across various

education levels and sectors, thus reﬂecting the full spectrum of the economy

and labour market policies that may disproportionately disadvantage women.

This situation is exacerbated by the absence of supportive family and maternity

policies, such as paid parental leave, affordable childcare access, and ﬁnancial

constraints in covering these costs.

On the other hand, the GAPSTM model suggests that the labour market

environment within STEM ﬁelds may offer more favourable conditions that

positively impact women with children. These conditions could include more

stable working hours, speciﬁc job beneﬁts, or a work culture more inclusive

of working mothers. Such factors potentially mitigate the negative effects of

higher fertility on women’s employment in STEM manufacturing disciplines,

highlighting the signiﬁcance of job quality and supportive labour policies in

narrowing the gender gap in this sector (Arora et al., 2021). To some degree,

STEM AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: THE CASES OF BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

this outcome could also be associated with women who have more children

opting to seek employment, possibly facilitated by extended family support

networks or shifts in family structures, as established by Esteve et al. (2022).

The fourth model, which examines the gender gap in STEM services, shows

that KEXP has a signiﬁcant positive effect. This ﬁnding suggests that knowledge-

intensive exports have the potential to diminish the gender gap in the services

sector. However, this effect should not be considered in isolation but rather

in conjunction with the GAPSTM model, where manufacturing exports exhibit

an opposite impact, as also shown by Arora et al. (2023). While a deep and

enduring gap exists in manufacturing, the services sector –particularly in

Brazil and Chile– exhibits a scenario closer to gender parity. Consequently,

an increase in exports of services could lead to a rise in female employment,

mirroring the effect on male employment. Collectively, the ﬁndings from the

GAPSTM and GAPSTS models underscore the enduring nature of gender roles

and illustrate how services, both within STEM ﬁelds and more broadly, remain

predominantly feminized sectors.

Generally, productivity within the economy does not emerge as a signiﬁcant

factor in advancing gender equality. This observation suggests that within

the context of the countries analysed, socio-cultural factors exert a more

substantial inﬂuence on the gender gap, as well a lack of proper policies to

mitigate it. However, the potential impact of increased female participation

in the productive structure on enhancing GDP should not be underestimated

(Tejada et al., 2021). Table 2 summarises the results of the econometric

analysis. Combined, the results of the GAPST, GAPSTM and GAPSTS models

do not allow us to categorically conﬁrm or reject H2. The gender segregation of

economic activities plays an important role in the impact of foreign trade ﬂows

on the gender gap. In the case of manufacturing, where male employment

predominates, an increase in high and medium-high technology exports would

widen the gap, while the opposite is true for knowledge-intensive services

exports, where female employment is more prominent.

In conclusion, the ﬁndings of this study lead to several policy

recommendations aimed at closing the gender gap in STEM and the broader

labour market. First, there is a need for enhanced focus on gender-neutral

education policies to tackle early gender segregation in STEM disciplines

(Cuberes et al., 2022; Tacsir et al., 2014; Verdugo-Castro et al., 2021). Second,

the development of public policies that enable women to share childcare and

household responsibilities more equally with their male counterparts is crucial.

Such policies should aim to facilitate a better work-life balance and promote

equal caregiving roles among parents (Bustelo et al., 2019; Jergins, 2023).

Third, in light of the signiﬁcant role played by technology- and knowledge-

intensive exports, economic and industrial policies should be crafted to

encourage a shift towards higher value-added activities. This transition should

be supported by strategies to increase female participation in manufacturing

sectors, thereby amplifying the positive outcomes of this shift in the productive

landscape. Additionally, in the services sector, efforts should be made to

82 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo

enhance women’s involvement in activities that have a more technical and

technological focus, while also addressing the need for greater gender equity

in sectors predominantly staffed by women, such as healthcare and education

within STEM disciplines, as also pointed out by Sáinz (2020) and de García

Ucero (2023).

TABLE 2. ESTIMATION RESULTS SUMMARY

Model Comment

GAPE (gender gap in total economy) High- and medium-high technology exports may increase the

gender gap. No signiﬁcant effect is found for knowledge-intensive

exports and sectoral composition.

GAPST (gender gap in STEM occupations)

High- and medium-high-technology exports may widen the gender

gap in STEM occupations, while knowledge-intensive exports may

help to narrow it. The gender segregation that already exists across

sectors tends to perpetuate this gender gap in employment.

GAPSTM (gender gap in manufacturing

STEM occupations)

Manufacturing sectors show the largest gender gaps, including

those where STEM occupations are abundant. Gender segregation

in economic activities tends to feed back into the existing gap.

GAPSTS (gender gap in services STEM

occupations)

Knowledge-intensive exports can lead to a narrowing of the gender

gap. This is particularly due to the increased presence of women in

services, including those where STEM occupations are abundant.

TABLE 3. PANEL DATA ESTIMATION RESULTS

GAPE GAPST GAPSTM GAPSTS

Coefﬁcient

(Standard

error) t-value Coefﬁcient

(Standard

error) t-value Coefﬁcient

(Standard

error) t-value Coefﬁcient

(Standard

error) t-value

TEXP -0.00464

(0.0015) -3.15*** -0.00639

(0.0035) -1.83* 0.00289

(0.0021) 1.35 -

KEXP -0.00128

(0.0016) -0.79 0.0083

(0.0039) 2.15* - 0.01489

(0.0032) 4.63***

DUNCAN -0.17450

(0.1767) -0.99 -1.25403

(0.419) -2.99*** -1.09752

(0.2481) -4.42*** -0.51833

(0.3719) -1.39

FR -0.13009

(0.0658) -1.98* -0.00895

(0.1561) -0.06 0.15443

(0.083) 1.86* -0.10808

(0.1386) -0.78

PROD -2.84E-8

(1.09E-7) -0.26 2.99E-7

(2.59E-7) 1.16 1.79E-7

(1.69E-7) 1.06 3.82E-8

(2.26E-07) 0.17

CONSTANT 1.24947

(0.0709) 17.62 1.33725

(0.1681) 7.95 0.38633

(0.106) 3.64 1.01795

(0.0981) 10.38

R2 within 0.85 0.78 0.76 0.76

R2 between 0.76 0.83 0.93 0.95

R2 overall 0.37 0.83 0.43 0.94

rho 0.99 0.92 0.99 0.92

Source: Authors from PNAD, CASEN, ENIGH, TiVA (OECD, 2023 edition), and The World Bank

Note: “***”, “**”, and “*” represent signiﬁcance level at 1%, 5%, and 10% respectively.

5. CONCLUSIONS

The underrepresentation of women in STEM ﬁelds is a persistent and

concerning issue. This gender gap not only hinders economic development

and the transition towards high-tech and innovative industries and knowledge-

STEM AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE: THE CASES OF BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL 68, 2024, 67-93

intensive services, but it also leads to an inefﬁcient allocation of labour and

human capital potential. Despite the efforts to increase the number of women

in STEM ﬁelds, there are still signiﬁcant disparities (Diekman et al., 2010). One

plausible explanation for these disparities in the Latin American context lies in

the social roles ascribed to women, which are inﬂuenced by their educational

expectations. However, the reasons behind these gender disparities in STEM

are multi-faceted and require further examination. To address the gender gap

in STEM disciplines and promote female participation in these ﬁelds, it is

important to understand the underlying factors contributing to this disparity.

Several studies have suggested various factors that contribute to the gender

gap in STEM disciplines. These factors include social and cultural norms,

stereotyping, lack of female role models, unconscious bias in education and

hiring processes, limited access to resources and opportunities, and negative

experiences and treatment of women in STEM ﬁelds. While many studies have

explored the relationship between career choices and gender stereotypes,

particularly in the context of STEM, there remains a signiﬁcant gap in research

examining STEM’s performance in the labour market. Similarly, the impact of

foreign trade, especially in relation to activities associated with higher levels of

technology and innovation, has not been thoroughly investigated. This paper

contributes valuable insights into how economic opportunities might inﬂuence

women’s participation in STEM disciplines. We have examined occupational

segregation and the gender gap considering the effects of foreign trade by

analysing the impact of high-technology and service DVA exports.

As Latin America progresses towards a future shaped by innovation

and technology, understanding the status of women in STEM disciplines in

countries like Brazil, Chile, and Mexico becomes imperative. Such an analysis

can not only illustrate the challenges women face in these ﬁelds but also

provide critical insights for the development of policies and programs aimed

at encouraging women’s participation in science and technology. The ﬁndings

of this research underscore a signiﬁcant and enduring gender gap, especially

in women’s involvement in high-technology manufacturing activities. They also

highlight the crucial role of external economic engagement and the export of

high value-added products and services. However, while the results show that

foreign trade does have an impact on the gender gap, both in the economy in

general and in STEM activities in particular, this impact is determined by the

pre-existing gender segregation in the labour market between different sectors

of activity.. This underscores the signiﬁcance of the production and labour

structure in creating new opportunities for high quality and equal employment.

In conclusion, the ﬁndings of this study lead to several policy

recommendations aimed at closing the gender gap in STEM and the broader

labour market. First, there is a need for enhanced focus on gender-neutral

education policies to tackle early gender segregation in STEM disciplines

(Cuberes et al., 2022; Tacsir et al., 2014; Verdugo-Castro et al., 2021). Second,

the development of public policies that enable women to share childcare and

household responsibilities more equally with their male counterparts is crucial.

84 Bruno Blanco-Varela · Hugo Campos-Romero · José Manuel Amoedo