Mexico: Social and economic aspects of the status of women (1970-2003)

The information provided in this request adds to that found in the Research Directorate's March 2003 Issue Paper, Mexico: Domestic Violence and Other Issues Related to the Status of Women, by presenting data on the social and economic aspects of the status of women in Mexico since the 1970s.

Women's Role in the Economy

Various sources have reported that there has been considerable progress with regard to the role of women in the Mexican economy during the last thirty years. For example, according to a Library of Congress country study on Mexico, compared to statistics from 1970, the percentage of women in the workforce had doubled to 31 per cent in 1990 (US June 1996). Two sources also mentioned that by 1995 the percentage of women participating in the economy had risen to 35 per cent (CRP 1997; PBS n.d.), while figures in a 1999 report by the National Employment Inquiry (Encuesta Nacional de Empleo) of Mexico indicated that between 36 and 37 per cent of women were economically active (Mexico July 21, 160).

An 11 July 2000 report by the National Institute for Women (Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres, INMUJERES) provided a graph that denotes the rise in female participation in the workforce that started at 17.6 per cent in 1970, increased to 31.5 per cent in 1991, and reached 36.4 per cent in 2000 (Mexico 11 July 2000). According to International Labour Organization (ILO) statistics, female participation in the Mexican labour force increased from 38.9 per cent in 1995 to a high of 41.7 per cent in 1997, while decreasing slightly to 40.7 percent in 1999 (2002). Moreover, Mexico's female employment-to-population ratio made steady gains in percentages in contrast to the male ratio, which fluctuated during the same period (ILO 2002).

Looking at women's participation by employment category, the National Programme for Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination against Women (Programa Nacional para la Igualdad de Oportunidades y No Discriminacion Contra las Mujeres, PROEQUIDAD), an INMUJERES programme, found that 43 per cent of women worked in the service sectors, of which 23 per cent were in business and 20 per cent in industry (Mexico 16 Nov. 2001, 39). More specifically, in 2000, 19.5 per cent of women were merchants, sellers and saleswomen, 15.5 per cent were artisans and craftswomen, 13.3 per cent were office personnel, 11.8 per cent were domestic workers, and 8.4 per cent were employed in diverse services (OAS 29-31 Oct. 2002, 5).

With regard to the rural workforce, PROEQUIDAD, stating that women have made significant progress in this domain, noted that female rural landholders (ejidatarias) in 1970 made up only 1.3 per cent of the population while in 2000 they had increased to 25 per cent (Mexico 16 Nov. 2001, 39). However, according to Mexico's national report to the October 2002 XXXI Assembly of Delegates of the Inter-American Commission of Women, one third of economically active rural women were unpaid "family" (familiares) workers, and 42 per cent received less than a minimum wage (OAS 29-31 Oct. 2002, 5).

A report by the Academy of Educational Development (AED), drawing from an ILO study, stated that whilst overall some gains have been attained by Mexican women in the workforce, women still earn much less than men and

socio-cultural norms for female roles in society and family continue to impact women's access to work and credit. Employer discrimination against women is widely known in Mexico, where job announcements commonly ask the marital status and gender of job seekers and women may risk losing their jobs if they become pregnant (n.d.).

Moreover, a 1998 study prepared by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO), now the Center for Women's Business Research (CWBR) in Washington, reported that 40 per cent of Mexican women entrepreneurs stated that machismo was a barrier affecting the development of their business and 23 per cent felt that they were excluded from male-dominated business groups (CWBR 28 Oct. 1998).

Education

In general, educational opportunities have also improved for women in Mexico. The National Institute of Geographic Statistics and Information (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Geografia e Informatica, INEGI) in its 2003 report [translation] Women and Men in Mexico noted that the percentage of women 15 years of age or older who had not received any formal educational instruction had decreased from 35 per cent in 1970 to 11.6 per cent in 2000 (Mexico 2003, 248). The number of women who had not completed their basic education had declined from 57.6 per cent in 1970 to 42.8 per cent in 2000 (ibid., 251), while the percentage of women who had completed their basic education rose from 2.5 per cent in 1970 to 18.3 per cent in 2000 (ibid., 254).

Meanwhile, illiteracy among women dropped from 29.6 per cent in 1970 to 11.3 per cent in 2000 (ibid., 270), and the number of women delaying or dropping out of formal education decreased from 92.6 per cent in 1970 to 54.3 percent in 2000 (ibid., 280). Nevertheless, according to the ILO, in 2001 "over one in ten women [in Mexico] still could not read or write" in Mexico (2002).

Statistics on higher education also point to an improvement in conditions for women. The overall number of women completing post-secondary (postbasica) education–described by the INEGI as a level of schooling higher than secondary education–increased from 4.9 per cent in 1970 to 26.4 per cent in 2000 (Mexico 2003, 257). Data from 1990 to 2000 on higher education demonstrated that women's enrolment had increased in almost every category (ibid., 237, 240, 243, 246). Apart from decreasing from 60.6 per cent to 51.4 per cent in technical professional education (ibid., 237), women have increased their presence in bachelor degree programmes and post-graduate work (ibid., 240) in the agricultural sciences, health sciences, natural sciences, social and administrative sciences, humanities, and engineering and technology (ibid., 243, 246).

Conjugal and Household Status

According to the INEGI, in comparison to men, the percentage of women who are divorced or separated had increased from 2.6 per cent in 1970 to 5 per cent in 2000 (Mexico 2003, 287). In addition, while men were predominantly listed as the head of the household in Mexico, the number of women heading households had increased from 1,705,234 in 1970 to 4,597,335 in 2000 (ibid., 297). An INMUJERES report also stated that women headed 4.6 million households, which roughly translated into 16.5 million persons living under female-headed households (Mexico 11 July 2000, 11).

Separated into urban and rural categories, this meant that the number of female-headed rural households had increased slightly from 618,546 in 1990 to 862,789 in 2000 (Mexico 2003, 298) while the number of urban women heading households increased from 2,186,942 in 1990 to 3,699,310 in 2000 (ibid.). Geographically, the highest percentage of female-headed households were found in the Federal District (25.8 per cent), Guerrero (24.6 per cent), Morelos (23.3 per cent), Veracruz (22.5 per cent) and Oaxaca (22.3 per cent) (ibid., 300). Concurrently, the lowest percentages of woman-led households were in Nuevo Leon (16.3 per cent), Chiapas (16.6 per cent), Coahuila (17.1 per cent), Quintana Roo (17.3 per cent), Yucatan (17.6 per cent) and Campeche (17.8 per cent) (ibid.).

Reaction

Information on social attitudes towards the growing presence of women in the Mexican labour force is limited in the sources consulted by the Research Directorate; however, the following provides some reactions from academic and news sources (US June 1996; Christian Science Monitor 18 Feb. 2003). A 1995 national survey sponsored by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM) reported that there was an increased acceptance of the notion that men and women should both contribute to family duties (US June 1996). However, these views were mainly associated with the respondent's income and educational level since "low income and minimally educated respondents regarded household tasks as women's work" (ibid.).

According to a February 2003 article in the Christian Science Monitor, some men have reacted with hostility towards the changing socioeconomic status of women. Popular TV programmes, newspapers, magazines and music are replete with misogynistic references that are highly critical of the modern Mexican woman (Christian Science Monitor 18 Feb. 2003). Lourdes Plata Toledo, a well-know psychologist who writes for Monterrey-based newspaper El Norte, explained that men across the country are aggressively opposing the changing roles of women (ibid.). Oscar Muzquiz, the host of a radio talk-show that has a large following in northern Mexico, stated that "Mexican men feel emasculated by women's advancement," claiming that this phenomenon has been imported from the United States and goes against traditional religious and family values (ibid.).

Please refer to the 1997 report Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives and the January 2001 follow-up report published by the Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRP) for an overview of the international and domestic legal structures and mechanisms pertaining to the status of women in Mexico at .

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Academy of Educational Development (AED). n.d. "Women and Information Technology (IT) in Mexico." [Accessed 28 Aug. 2003]

Center for Women's Business Research (CWBR). 28 October 1998. "Women Business Owners in Mexico: An Emerging Economic Force." [Accessed 17 Oct. 2003]

Center for Reproductive Rights (CRP). 1997. "Mexico." Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives. Latin America and the Caribbean. New York: Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. [Accessed 28 Aug. 2003]

Christian Science Monitor [Boston]. 18 February 2003. Gretchen Peters. "Shock Jock Rails Against Mexico's Modern Women." (NEXIS)

International Labour Organization (ILO). 2002. Equal Employment Opportunities Information Base. "Mexico: National Statistics." [Accessed 17 Oct. 2003]

Mexico. 2003. Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Geografia e Informatica (INEGI). Mujeres y Hombres en Mexico, 2003. [Accessed 28 Aug. 2003]
_____. 11 July 2000. Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (INMUJERES). "Dia Mundial de la Poblacion." [Accessed 29 Aug. 2003]
_____. July 2001. Consejo Nacional de Poblacion (CONAPO). "La condicion social de la mujer." Poblacion de Mexico en el Nuevo Siglo. [Accessed 3 Sept. 2003]
_____. 16 November 2001. Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (INMUJERES). Programa Nacional para la Igualdad de Oportunidades y No Discriminacion Contra las Mujeres 2001-2006 (PROEQUIDAD). Volumen 1. Objetivos y Lineas Estrategicas. [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

Organization of American States (OAS). 29-31 October 2002. "Informe Nacional: Mexico." Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM). Report presented at the XXXI Assembly of Delegates of the CIM, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, 29-31 October 2002. [Accessed 20 Sept. 2003]

Public Broadcasting System (PBS). n.d. "Mexico: Women's Status." [Accessed 28 Aug. 2003]

United States (US). June 1996. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. "Role of Women." Mexico: A Country Study. Edited by Tim L. Merrill and Ramon Miro. Country Study Series. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

World News Connection/Dialog

Internet sites, including:

Comunicacion e Informacion de la Mujer (CIMAC)

El Informador [Guadalajara]

Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)

Instituto Mexicano de Investigacion de Familia y Poblacion (IMIFAP)

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP)

La Jornada [Mexico City]

Mexico, Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia (DIF)

Mujeres Hoy/Isis Internacional

La Tarea [Guadalajara]

El Universal [Mexico City]

WorldWatch Institute

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