experience, and type of employment relationship serve as endowments that would explain the gap in their favor in the absence of unobservable factors.

Under the Ñopo approach (Table 3), the monthly income gap is reduced by 50% by 2015, consistent with the Oaxaca-Blinder estimate. Once again, the unexplained component is the key factor explaining this gap, tending to align between the methodologies from 2017 onwards (with a difference of 1.4 percentage points in 2019). The explained component plays a smaller role in reducing the overall gap, but it consistently favors women (15% on average). The _CEO_ and _MAID_ effects do not significantly impact the aggregate results as they tend to counteract each other. The common support does not undergo significant changes in the monthly exercise. Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the decrease in labor income disparity persisted under the Ñopo decomposition method. Specifically, the reduction in monthly labor income was 10%, while the hourly labor income decreased by -2.4%. The decline in the wage gap can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the reduction of unobserved issues and improvements in women's relative endowments compared to men.

# **7. Public programs to close gaps**

Public policy in Colombia, through various programs and strategies, aims at addressing gender gaps. These initiatives aim to improve the conditions of women in the labor market, enhance their demand, and promote their presence in occupations with better prospects and rewards. Table 6 presents a classification of recent measures.<sup>10</sup> These policies address areas such as health, education, social protection, and access to better employment opportunities. The strategies include promoting gender equality training, flexible education models, and financing for women's access to higher education, particularly in non-traditional fields like STEM. Other measures focus on removing barriers for women in the job market, such as raising awareness among companies, providing payroll subsidies, and offering tax incentives. Additionally, efforts are made to empower women by improving access to resources, providing technical advice, and facilitating networking opportunities. Measures also aim to enhance women's participation in decision-making processes, political empowerment, and the prevention of violence against women in politics, through initiatives like the _Mujer Emprende_ Fund and the _Casas de las Mujeres Empoderadas_ .

Finally, we examine some cross-sectional policies related to the first four axes aimed at improving women's working conditions through targeted resource allocation and incentives to close gender gaps. The "Pact for Equity for Women" is an initiative with the objective of promoting equal access and participation of women in the labor market, enabling them to improve their economic status in an environment free from gender-based violence. One of its expected outcomes is a 4- percentage-point reduction in the income gap below the global level. The " _Mecanismo de Protección al Cesante_ " (Unemployed Protection Mechanism) serves as an instrument to promote 10 This categorization is based on the World Bank's four key axes for gender equality promotion (World Bank Group, 2015).