Mexico: It's time to leave toxic masculinity behind

Who cooks at home ? Who looks after children after school? Who takes care of family members when they are sick ? Who does the majority of chores at home ? In most cases, the answer is women .

Moreover, women are not paid to fulfill these tasks . According to UN Women , if every Mexican housewife received a salary , the total would be higher than the profits generated by the oil industry.

In light of this, the UN has proposed the creation of a National Care System in order to reach two goals. First, that the system becomes a sector that generates jobs and the second, achieve the redistribution of domestic work. As a result, women would feel comfortable allowing someone else to look after the elderly , people with disabilities , and children , furthermore, this would allow them to join the labor market and perhaps join this system.

The United Nations also discusses an issue that prevails in Mexico : the work overload faced by women. Moreover, the situation worsens when they have a full-time job because, after work, they have chores to do at home. This is a problem that has to be acknowledged, reduced, and redistribute the work .

Almost two decades have passed since the beginning of the 21st century , nevertheless, sexism still prevails in Mexican society since the majority of people think that women “belong” at home.

Besides the UN proposal, there would have to campaign to raise awareness about the need to share domestic chores among all family members, including men. Because if there is no economic retribution for women, it is fair to share domestic work with other family members. This is a pending issue in regards to gender equality .

The UN aims to reach gender equality in 11 years, as part of its 2030 agenda . And although Mexico has made progress, there is a lot of work ahead. The country will take a huge step to achieve equality and it is time for men to realize that domestic work does not undermine their masculinity .

Mexico to establish a special minimum wage for domestic workers soon

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