Mexico’s economy would increase by a quarter if women participated in the labor force at the same rate as men, according to a recent study. A job fair in the city of Santiago de Querétaro is pictured.

If women in Mexico participated in the labor force at the same rate as men, the country’s annual economic activity could increase by $390.5 billion—or 25 percent—according to a report published Aug. 20 by the Milken Institute. World Bank data cited by the report indicates that 45.6 percent of women in Mexico work, as compared to 77.5 percent of men. What are the reasons why more women do not participate in Mexico’s labor force? Should Mexico implement new measures to women working, and what should such measures entail? How much will President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s policies help bring more women into Mexico’s work force?

Ana Canedo, assistant professor in the Department of Demography and Population Studies at the University of Montreal: “Mexican women’s low labor market participation is due to several factors, including the lack of affordable child care, the need to care for the elderly or dependents, labor market discrimination and social norms that prioritize women’s roles as caregivers. As Mexico City’s former head, Claudia Sheinbaum created a commission to regulate child care services and improve their quality. However, her policies focused on public child care funding, leading many private daycares, especially in marginalized areas, to close due to a lack of support. This worsened the already limited child care availability in low-income areas. Discrimination and wage disparities also hinder female labor force participation. A 2022 IMCO study found that 24 percent of women aged 24-35 faced workplace discrimination, and a 2017 Conapred report highlighted a 34.2 percent wage gap favoring men. Social norms further restrict participation; among my college-educated friends from high school, fewer than 30 percent stayed in the work force after having children. While not representative, this reflects strong cultural expectations for women to remain at home, even among those with the resources to seek private services. To improve women’s labor force participation, Mexico needs comprehensive policies that expand child care services, enforce anti-discrimination laws and challenge existing gender norms. Sheinbaum’s efforts have been insufficient, and when she assumes the presidency, broader measures will be necessary to support women in the work force.”

Tequila Brooks, attorney and former labor law advisor to the North American Commission on Labor Cooperation Secretariat: “Not only is participation of women in Mexico’s labor market low (46.5 percent), but their participation in informal jobs is high (56 percent of economically active women). Low wages, lack of access to social security coverage, and high rates of workplace violence put women in Mexico in an untenable economic position during their working lives and when they retire. The newspaper Proceso reports that President-elect Sheinbaum plans to govern ‘through the eyes of a woman,’ placing women’s needs at the center of her administration’s agenda. She also plans to adopt a special old age pension for women aged 60-64 to help alleviate poverty among older women. Like their counterparts around the world, working-age women in Mexico need better policies and better implementation of existing laws and policies to ensure improved economic and personal outcomes. Ruiz & Pereznieto highlight family responsibilities, a ‘wage penalty’ for working mothers and rigid and discriminatory social norms as barriers that hinder women’s access to decent jobs in the formal sector—and lack of access to training and finance to transform informal activities into formal small businesses. Sheinbaum plans to continue the current administration’s implementation of Mexico’s 2020 labor law reform, designed in part to eliminate sweetheart deals between employers and undemocratic unions that suppress wage growth in manufacturing. Since many women work in textile, garment and electronics manufacturing in Mexico, governing through the eyes of a woman may just be the impetus to adopt policies that raise women’s wages and improve workplace flexibility so they can get ahead.”

Tamara Kay, associate professor of global affairs and sociology at the Keough School of Global
Affairs at the University of Notre Dame: “ Research shows that in Mexico, fewer women participate in the labor force due to motherhood penalties, unpaid labor in the home and informal sector, discrimination, and lack of child care, paid family leave and flexible work schedules. These obstacles are not unique to Mexico. Two factors that limit women’s labor force participation, however, need more attention and analysis. First, as Mexican feminist organizations such as Red de Mujeres Sindicalistas have repeatedly highlighted, women experience high levels of workplace violence and sexual harassment. Research suggests this has significant effects on women’s labor force participation, labor market sex segregation and pay inequalities. Second, Mexican women have historically participated in labor unions at lower rates than men, and research shows that union contracts increase wages and benefits, workplace protections—including against violence and sexual harassment—and improve workplace conditions. The Mexican government’s 2019 labor law reform and key provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will likely increase women’s labor force participation and improve their working conditions by promoting gender equality in workplaces and labor unions, providing protections against discrimination and sexual harassment, and increasing protections for pregnant workers—which is particularly relevant because maquiladoras in Mexico often require women workers to submit to pregnancy tests as a condition of employment. Future government policies that target workplace violence and sexual harassment and facilitate women’s participation in labor unions, including in leadership positions, would help reduce two of the most significant challenges to Mexican women’s labor force participation, and to their well-being.”

Nicolás Mariscal, member of the Advisor board and chairman of Grupo Marhnos in Mexico City: “It would be very convenient for Mexico to integrate more women into its labor force. This is an issue not only for our country, but for many throughout the world, including developed ones. Nevertheless, there has been important progress during the last couple of years, and we should expect more to come. According to Statista, in 2023 women made up 40.4 percent of the economically active population. That is, 24.7 million women against 36.2 million men. We should take into account that 51.1 percent of the Mexican population is made up of women. That more Mexican women aren’t participating in the labor force is due to several factors. According to a report by the World Bank, there should be more daycare centers, prevention of teenage pregnancy and a series of complementary policies, such as the elimination of genre discrimination and incentives for children to stay in school. This, among other policies, would help boost their participation. That we are having our first female president is good news in this regard. President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has created the Secretariat of Women, putting at the state-level the numerous issues regarding Mexican women. Empowering women is not only in the country’s economic interest, but also a fundamental matter of human rights.”

Ricardo J. Álvarez-Pimentel, assistant professor of history at Baylor University:“At first glance, one of the most immediate answers to the question is the lack of access to child care. But the problem goes deeper than that. A lot of Mexican employers do not provide adequate maternity leave or health insurance benefits for expectant mothers, effectively driving them out of the labor force after having children. Women bear the brunt of child care responsibilities (many of them as single mothers) and, depending on where they reside and their socioeconomic status, they might not have access to contraceptives or other forms of family planning, which only keeps the cycle going. At the same time, there is gender-based discrimination in hiring and promotion practices, and there are disparities in educational opportunities along the lines of race, class and gender, which disproportionately affect Indigenous women. Psychological violence, such as verbal abuse, harassment and intimidation, and unchecked sexual harassment also force women out of the workplace, and labor laws have yet to catch up with this deeper cultural issue. However, it seems that women make a larger portion of the informal economy. The opposition severely criticized Sheinbaum for her alleged closure of full-time schools for early childhood. I would think that to address these issues properly, her administration would begin by making child care more accessible and then tackle the larger structural inequalities.”