Unpaid housework equals 23.3% of Mexico’s GDP

Unpaid housework and care taking reached an economic value of 5.1 billion pesos last year, which represented 23.3% of Mexico’s GDP , according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) . Furthermore, unpaid work for the production of self-consumption goods contributed with 1.6% of the GDP , while labor among children of between 5 and 11 years of age represented a 0.3% .

Most unpaid housework and care taking was carried out by women , who accounted for 76.7% of housework time in the country . Furthermore, women account for 75.2% of housework in terms of economic value , according to the most recent results of the Satellite Account of Unpaid Work in Mexican Homes of 2017 , conducted by the INEGI.

As per role type, in relation with the GDP at current prices, activities that consist of providing “care and support” for the members of households represented 7.4% of the GDP , followed by food preparation, with 4.6% , the “cleaning and maintenance of the household,” 4.4% ; “helping other homes and voluntary service,” 2.6% ; “shopping for home essentials and home management,” 2.5% , and finally, “cleaning of clothes and shoes,” which accounts for the remaining 1.7% .

In 2017, the net results per capita showed that each person engaged in housework and care taking equivalent to an average of 39,736 pesos a year . When disaggregating said value according to sex, it was observed that the work done by women had an average value of 55,811 pesos a year , while that of men rose to barely 20,694 pesos during the same year.

When observing the value of housework and care taking as per the current budget revenue, women from the decil 1 (with the lowest income) contributed with an average of MXN$59,296 per person yearly; while those belonging to the decil 10 (with the highest income) did so with an average of 52,366 pesos during the same period. On the other hand, the contribution of men represented 18,709 and 22,129 pesos for each decil.

Regarding housework carried out by minors of between 5 and 11 years , girls contributed with the equivalent of 6,004 pesos yearly , while boys contributed with 5,393 pesos during the same year.

Domestic workers will now have rights to social security in Mexico

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