Labor and Employment

South America has an infamous reputation due to their labor practices. They have a very large amount of children working in unsafe conditions, most of these children being young girls. While majority of them are placed to work in agriculture, others are placed in high-risk sectors such as mining, dumpsites, fireworks manufacturing, and fishing (Child Labor in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2016). While some laws have been placed to prohibit the use of children 5-17 in the worst forms of child labor, they are still struggling with finding the necessary amount of inspectors to ensure that this law is actually in effect (Regional Outlook, 2016). In 2016, many people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been struggling to find jobs. Their unemployment rate is at about 12% and is expected to rise in the future (World Bank, 2017). As far as equality in the workplace, to put it simple... there really isn’t any. While the exact amount has not been reported, men working in South America make a much more substantial amount of money compared to women. However, they have been continuously working on fixing this situation and in 2016, a stocktaking report was produced for the Pacific Alliance Summit to promote women’s economic empowerment.