Breathe
By Fernanda García
In the context of the 2024 elections, there is much talk about the progress made in women's political participation, their growing presence in the public sphere and in decision-making positions. This reality is undeniable. Today there is parity in the Congress of the Union and women lead key institutions such as the Supreme Court of Justice, INAI and INE, there are also nine female governors and everything points to the fact that the future president will be a woman.
It is inevitable to contrast this wave of milestones with the private sector, where women are conspicuous by their absence, especially in the most senior positions. According to the latest IMCO measurement in alliance with Kiik Consultores, out of almost 200 companies analyzed, only 4% of general management positions are held by women and 7% of boards of directors are chaired by a woman. Why is the private sector so much further behind on the road to gender parity?
A common factor is unpaid caregiving, which falls more heavily on women. Recent data from INEGI reveal that 51% of women who provide care also have a job or are looking for one, a proportion that increases to 71% when they do not perform these tasks. The same is not true for men, who maintain an economic participation of around 80%, whether or not they perform caregiving tasks. Providing care reduces the time they devote to the labor market, limits their access to quality jobs and, consequently, their income tends to be lower.
Nine out of 10 people who leave the labor market because of caregiving are women. In addition, 68% of women who want to seek employment do not do so due to a lack of options for delegating care, compared to 16% of men in the same situation. This reflects a vicious circle: the majority of women leave the labor market for caregiving reasons, at the same time those who want to enter the labor market do not do so for this reason, and those who do tend to face worse working conditions.
Therefore, women are not growing within companies because Mexico has not resolved the disproportionate burden of care. The labor market has not evolved to offer more flexible jobs that respond to this reality in which women are part of the paid economy. Nor does it recognize that care is unavoidable and indispensable and that for women to move up the ladder, they cannot continue to assume the almost exclusive role of caregivers. Of course, without ignoring that there are other factors such as discrimination, violence, beliefs or the environment.
Does this mean that the public sector offers better working conditions for women? More flexibility or better hours? Quality care services? No, but unlike the business world, there are gender quotas for all levels of government and in all three branches of government. Whether this is the solution to increase the participation of female civil servants in more senior positions may be debatable. However, the public and private spheres are different environments, and each requires different things to address its own motivations.
Despite the rise of female leadership in the public sector, the same has not been true in the corporate sector. No matter how avant-garde we consider ourselves to be, women are still the caretakers. No matter how committed companies are to recruiting more women, we need a flexible labor market that responds to social changes. No matter how many public policies there are to achieve gender equality, there is no care policy. So, when we hear that it is time for women, let us think about the road ahead to redistribute care.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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