Womens participation in the global workforce has fallen 2 percent since 1990. But its a different case in Latin America and the Caribbean, where its jumped 14 points. The region saw women join the workforce at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world, adding up to 80 million more working women since the 1960s.

More women joining the labor force can also translate to billions more in a countrys GDP. For example, UK-based auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that Chiles GDP could see an increase of 19 percentor $80 billionif it were to match Swedens female employment rate, which stands at about 75 percent.

Getting women into the workforce, however, and into top decision-making roles in companies is another story. Latin America lags behind other regions with only 6.4 percent of board seats held by women. At that pace, itll take until 2042 for women to make up 30 percent of board seatsa general threshold companies and governments consider when drafting legislation or goals. U.S. and Canadian businesses, on the other hand, are expected to get there by 2021.

Ahead of International Womens Day 2017 on March 8, we look at how the region fares.

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Weekly Chart: Women in the Workforce in Latin America and the ... - AS/COA Online