Gender pay gap widens in Mexico’s job market

The number of women with better-paid jobs in Mexico showed a significant decrease in the past 12 years, whereas the amount of women working low-paid jobs is increasing, according to a quarterly report issued by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) .

The number of women employed who earned five or more minimum salaries (over MXN$13,254 a month) was of 725,615 at the end of Enrique Peña Nieto ’s presidency, a number that represents barely 3.5% of all 20.9 million women employed in the country.

The number of women with better-paid jobs has showed a dramatic decrease since the presidency of Felipe Calderón , at the end of which the number of women who earned five or more minimum salaries was of nearly 1.2 million, which is equivalent to 6.4% of Mexico’s female adult population. At the end of Vicente Fox ’s six year period (2006), the number was 1.4 million; 8.8% of the total.

José Luis de la Cruz, head of the Institute for Industrial Development and Economic Growth

, said that the structure of Mexico’s economy and job market was showing an increase in job insecurity and wage precariousness. Well-paid jobs seem to be disappearing.

“In addition, gender inequality conditions in the country have caused better paid job opportunities to be given mostly to men,” he pointed out.

Recruitment processes, academic background, training requirements, and social determinants often cause employers to avoid hiring women for management positions, which reduces their chances of enjoying higher wages.

More women with low-paid jobs

The segment of women that were paid two minimum salaries or less (MXN$6,243 at most) showed an increase in recent years. There were officially 10.7 million women with low-paid jobs at the end of 2018, which represents more than half (51.4%) of Mexico’s total female population.

During Calderón’s administration, there were 8.3 million women with low-paid jobs (44.6%), and 6.9 million during the administration of Vicente Fox (41.8%).

Same goes for men

The increase in wage precariousness has also affected the adult male population. From 2006 to 2012, the number of workers earning five or more minimum wages went from 3.8 to 2.7 million people, 13.8% and 9% of the total, respectively.

At the end of the previous administration (2018) the number of men with better-paid jobs was of barely 1.7 million people, representing 5.2% of the total.

As is the case with women, the amount of men earning two or less minimum salaries was of 12.9 million at the end of 2018, which is equivalent to 38.9% of the total adult male population. Said number is considerably higher than the 9.3 million workers (30.8% of the total) registered at the end of 2012, and the 7.9 million (28.6%) registered during the fourth quarter of 2006.

“What we need to improve labor conditions for men and women in Mexico is economic growth with greater added value so that we may generate better job opportunities and higher wages,”

warned the specialist.

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