In Mexico women earn half as much as men

By Daniela Guazo, Ivonne Sánchez and Eduardo Buendía.

In Mexico, women do not have the same opportunities as men to get a job, neither earn as much as them.

Of the 51.6 million Mexicans working, 19.8 are women, according to the latest figures from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in 2015.

Also, the Gender Gap Report published in 2015 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) revealed that in Mexico the salaries of women are equivalent to those earned by men a decade ago.

Of the 145 nations evaluated, Mexico is ranked 71th. in terms of gender gap.

In Mexico women earn 11,357 dollars per year on average, while men make 23,347 dollars. The biggest disparity is in leadership positions and industrial jobs. Women earn more than their male counterparts in activities such as security services and armed forces, as well as in agriculture, cattle raising and fisheries.

In Mexico, men earn 99.76 pesos (US$5.5) per hour in average, compared to 77.5 pesos (US$4.3) per hour made by women.

"In Mexico we have a serious wage gap problem. It is more difficult for women to be in decision-making positions and this affects their income," said Ana Buquet, director of the University Program for Gender Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Nonetheless, three in every five small and medium enterprises created in 2013 were led by women, according to Mexico's Ministry of Finance.

Also, the University Program for Gender Studies revealed that 51% of the 106,584 students that enrolled in 2006 were women. In 2011, the overall average grade of female students was 8.1, compared to the 7.8 of their male counterparts.

Even though figures of the National Survey of Occupation and Employment show that women have one more year of studies than their male counterparts, they are not paid better.

(Note: This artcile was written in the context of the International Women's Day, to be celebrated on Tuesday.)