Labor Inequality: A Problem to Overcome | Article by Rebeca Dosal and David Ordaz

Rebeca Dosal and David Ordaz

Currently inequality between women and men It is present in almost all spheres of life, however, in labor marketwomen underrepresented and no country has succeeded in achieving gender equality in the workplace.

Our country room in Latin America with lower participation of women in economic activityThus, promoting inclusion and improving the conditions for promoting economic growth will have a positive impact on almost half of the population, on families and, in turn, on will enhance global competitiveness.

Only in the labor market and in accordance with National Survey of Employment and Employment (ENOE), women’s participation in the paid economy it reaches 46% while Men This amounts to 77%. Let me give you an example: between 2005 and 2023, the said participation increased by 5%, increasing from 41% to 46%. In this case, it will take 119 years so that women reach the level of economic participation of men.

At home, women First of all, they perform care work.important tasks for family dynamics and the functioning and well-being of society. Unfortunately, they have no reward In return.

I’ll just give a numerical example, although on average Men spend 16 hours on housework (and unpaid work) per week, women spend 40 hours. At the same time, 17.2 million women devote themselves exclusively to household chores, in contrast to 992 thousand men, that is, there are 17 times more women in this state than men.

According to the analysis IMCOcompared to industry, unpaid labor of women would represent 7.2 billion peso and will be equivalent 24% of gross domestic product (GDP), which exceeds the value of such economic sectors as manufacturing (22%) or trade (22%).

Information Global Gender Gap Index (VEF, 2022), Mexico is in second to last place in Latin America in participation and opportunities economic for women and while inclusion has grown over the past 25 years, wage and economic disparities still persist compared to men.

To this it must be added that at the moment of insertion or stay in the labor marketIt is women who are almost leaving the labour market, eventually reducing their working hours or choosing more flexible employment options due to wedding and arrival children.

There are still some in 2024 many inequalities by gender in our country, and discrimination at work due to the fact that women continue to exist in such factors as the presence lower salaryI get interview questions like: Do you have a boyfriend? Are you planning on getting pregnant? Among other things, this can determine whether you get the job or not, in addition to state whether they will be able to achieve leadership positions, etc.

If today it is it’s hard to get a jobFor women, the opportunity to grow and develop in the workplace is a challenge, as of the 46.3% of productive women who are employed, very few are able to hold a job. leading position in his employment.

If there is anyone who still wonders how men are better than women in the workplace? The answer is NOTHING, however Discrimination and inequality still exist.

The work is being done in a triple helix: the public, private and community sectors. As a society we must stimulate change in employment inequality and promote gender equality in all sectors, promoting a living wage and the inclusion of women with disabilities, migrants and mothers. This will help combat the working poverty that exists in Mexico.

For its part, real equality concerns not only state entities, it also requires the participation of private sectorto reduce and end the wage gap, which is part of a larger problem of inequality and a reflection of the deep discrimination that women face in the workplace.