Around 26 million women in Mexico have no income of their own

According to the association Citizen Action Against Poverty, only 6% of women in Mexico who have jobs earn more than 12,000 pesos a month, around $576.

Around 26 million women in Mexico have no income of their own
Some 26 million women in Mexico have no income of their own. Image by Salvador Navarro Maldonado from Pixabay

Barely 6% of women in Mexico who have a job earn more than 12,000 pesos a month, according to the association Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza (Citizen Action Against Poverty). Nearly 26 million women do not have their income in Mexico and only 4 out of 10 women have access to the labor market, said Monday the civil association Citizen Action Against Poverty.

Only 6% of working women in Mexico earn more than 12,000 pesos per month (about $596), while 7 out of 10 cannot buy the basics with their labor income.

In an analysis that describes the situation of women in the labor market, in the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is commemorated on November 25, the organization noted that the social allowance of home and family care "has condemned women to be dependent for having no income and staying at home to perform domestic tasks". To care for children, the sick, the disabled, or the elderly, "tasks that are neither paid nor socially recognized".

In addition to exclusion from the labor market, "the majority of women who do manage to get jobs to do so in precarious conditions" with low salaries (72%), without social security (62%), without a stable contract, in rigid hours, and without defense or union representation.

The states where there are more women without sufficient income to support a family are Chiapas (79%), Puebla (76%), Guerrero (75%), Morelos (75%), and Oaxaca (74%).

"Without considering the double workday that they carry out, on average, women should work years of 13.5 months to earn the same as men and years of 14 months to cover the cost of the basic basket for two people," the report indicated. The alarming situation of women in the labor market, victims of the violence that characterize this era, has been aggravated by the presence of the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico and with higher mortality among housewives.

In view of this scenario, the organization proposed a model of substantive equality that would make possible new social, economic, and political relations, and that would contribute to an inclusive economy. The proposal includes the design of a national care system that will enable women to exercise their rights, have their time, and move towards achieving economic autonomy.

On economic and social exclusion, the analysis pointed out that some 17 million women cannot work because they assume a historically and socially imposed gender role. Women's participation in the labor market is barely 43%, men have a 74% participation and unemployment affects women more (17.5%) than men (8.5%).