Why Mexico's Gender-Biased Stats Need a Makeover
Mexico's “head of household” stat is sexist and outdated, hiding women's contributions and skewing policies. Let's ditch it and count all family roles, not just the sombrero-wearing ones.
Mexico's head of household stat is about as accurate as a Chihuahua trying to knit a sweater. It's outdated, biased, and frankly, barking mad. Why? Because it's counting chickens, but only the roosters, while the hens are left clucking in the coop.
Claudia Serna Hernández, a UNAM grad student, cracked open this egg of inequality with her thesis. She found that the way we count families in Mexico, with this “head of household” business, is stuck in a time warp. It assumes the man is the breadwinner, the paterfamilias, even if the real Doña Cleta is the one hustling to keep the tortillas warm.
