Even though poverty rates do not differ significantly between men and women when the comparison is made for the total population, the result is different when the comparison is made for adults with the highest probability of participating in the labour market. In practically all the countries of the region, the poverty rate is higher for women than for men. The poverty incidence is highest for persons who have had no more than three years of schooling and it diminishes gradually as the number of years of schooling of the population increases.