Following an unprecedented pandemic that destabilized nations in every way, from the social to the economic, the country’s workforce lost steam in the face of uncertainty, social distancing, and business closures. In this scenario, it was Mexican women who took a step forward, a situation that, although it is not the first time in history, has had a magnitude never seen before.
With an average participation of 45% of female participation in the world of work and a maximum point reached in November 2022 with 46.7%, it has the highest statistic since the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness began calculating this data in 2005. In addition to the fact that, thanks to their participation, the labor force has stabilized after the pandemic, women represented 55% of the 3.1 million who joined the Economically Active Population (EAP) in the last two years, as reported Alberto Aguirre in his journalistic note in El Economista this week.
However, despite the apparent achievement of women in penetrating the labor market, we cannot ignore the fact that we are still in an extremely macho country in which women’s lives are conditioned by their gender from birth. Considering this, rather than focusing on celebrating, we must be alert, especially for the following:
imbalance in the home
While women dedicate 43 hours a week to housework, men dedicate 18. We now do double duty, working 240% more than men, according to what Sandra Ramírez, a researcher for ¿México ¿cómo vamos? Therefore, women in Mexico work twice as much and have much less time for personal care, generating more stress and anxiety than their male counterparts, according to a study published in September 2022 in the Lancet Public Heath Journal.
labor informality
The number of women working in the informal sector increased by the end of 2022 with the historical figure of 13.3 million women, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. In this regard, several specialists mention that many women prefer this informal scheme to also dedicate themselves to household issues since they continue to be relegated to carry out cleaning activities, care for minors and the elderly. Scheme that, by the way, lacks job stability, seniority rights and above all the fundamental human right that is access to health.
care of loved ones
As long as there is no care system that helps women and families to care for their daughters and sons, the sick or the elderly, we will continue betting our lives to be participating in the labor market without conditions for women to work in a fully and prosperously.
On top of the above, the wage gap, bullying and harassment, discrimination for being a woman, gender stereotypes embedded in our social structure, to mention some of the most enervating issues, do not cease to exist. How many of our companies continue to discriminate against us for the fact that we can be mothers and have a license of just 84 days? Another pending item on Mexico’s political agenda.
I stress it
The fact that women’s participation in the labor market and the EAP increases does not necessarily guarantee women’s well-being. A similar example is remittances, although we have a waste of 58 thousand 497 million dollars at the end of 2022, it is not a success for Mexico, on the contrary: it is the lack of conditions and an attractive market for Mexicans who emigrate with in order to seek better living conditions on the northern border.
In conclusion, As long as we do not elaborate public policies that guarantee conditions so that more than half of the population, which are women, participate in our labor market, we cannot speak of well-being and prosperity. What more would I like than to celebrate this increase, but without conditions there is nothing to celebrate, rather we have to be alarmed.
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