Women make up only 30 percent of Mexico's workforce, study shows, and are not treated equal to men

By José Merino
El Economista

Only 30 percent of Mexican women, three of every ten of working age, are participating in the country's labor force, according to a report by the Intelligence Unit of El Economista.

The study explained the skewed figures due to the propensity to allocate domestic responsibilities and child care to women.
 
As a result, women are paid less than men. They are more vulnerable to economic shocks. And, they are over-represented in informal jobs that provide more flexibility so that they can take care of domestic and child-raising duties.

Of all the country's economic sector, the greatest inequality in average income was in financial enterprises, where women earned only 63 percent of the salaries earned by men.

In contrast, public employment offers the most equitable situation, in whcih women earn 95 percent of what men earn.

The study also show that women get less education, mainly because of expectations that they will be more involved in keeping house and raising families.

Moreover, women's relationships with the labor market were more sporadic than men's because they often left work to have or raise children.

And, the study showed they couldn't meet the demands of full-time employment because they spent a higher proportion of their time on work related to the home.

eleconomista.com.mx/sociedad/2010/03/07/inequidad-laboral-nace-hogares