Breathe
By Rita Alicia Rodríguez
With half-lights and many shadows on our shoulders, we bid farewell to another year that, at least, left a new story to tell.
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The day that a woman arrived to occupy the Presidency of our country happened this 2024, if we are talking about job opportunities, this should be the story that allows us to open the door to other stories that we already need to tell ourselves.
In environments where reality overtakes us, we continue to hear stories that could well belong to any episode of the 90's television drama genre. INEGI in its press release this year, on Mother's Day, stated that 54% of women who have not worked or who have stopped working are not looking for a job because they do not have safe places for their children to be cared for, 11% think that their age and appearance is a limitation and 7% consider that there are no jobs for them or only at certain times of the year.
Meanwhile, in the corridors of the corporate world, where women play an active role and where they even occupy high-level hierarchical positions, the story is not so different. According to Ad Age in its recent study on the outlook for motherhood in LATAM, women in the advertising industry feel that motherhood limits them in meeting work demands and is an obstacle to continuing to compete fairly in their roles.
In the midst of these and multiple challenges in the labor environment, the Global Business Council has stated that this is a good time for Mexico as it has generated solid ecosystems in various industries, improvements in supply chains and that, added to its geographic location, it is a good place to invest, beyond the current administration.
In light of this, nearshoring (relocation of companies to more economical areas) was catapulted as a significant opportunity for business growth. Breaking paradigms, Mexico is one of the best evaluated countries in the mastery of digital skills while the business area has the greatest challenge according to the Global Skills Index. In contrast, our country ranks third worst among 38 nations when measuring the outlook for highly skilled workers due to working conditions and work-life balance, according to the results of the study made by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD.
These data provide us with context to understand that although unemployment reached the lowest level recorded in the first quarter with a rate of 2.4%, the reality is that opportunities are not being provided for all. INEGI reports that 76% of men are working and only 46% of women are economically active.
Without employment and despite a framework of insecurity and uncertainty, entrepreneurship was a good idea and as proof of this is that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) generate about 70% of jobs according to the National Development Plan (NDP). In turn, labor informality reports 54% of the population that seeks to reduce the costs of formalization and that have not had incentives or training to benefit from a favorable financial system.
In all of this, yes, the role of women in the country's economy has experienced greater relevance in terms of inclusion and labor welfare, however, there are still areas of opportunity and problems that seem, I insist, to have been taken from episodes of old television programming. And as a sample, these examples confirm the situation at the end of this year (according to the survey conducted by Kiik Consultores and the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness IMCO):
- The participation of women with children reaches 38% in middle management positions and decreases to 16% in senior management positions.
- Men perceive greater wage equality compared to women.
A few days ago in the feedback of a publication in a work social network, a colleague told me: "I understand your questions and, yes, your concerns" and immediately refuted a point that he had no basis for. It reminded me that if someone is unwilling or unable to see in the "concerns" of others the opportunities that can trigger changes for the good of all, it is difficult for them to materialize.
On the other hand, it is also a fact that companies and government agencies have done an exhaustive work to promote an inclusive work culture, but this requires a greater commitment that has not been achieved, also considering our conscious role in society.
And what name shall we give to this year? I'll keep thinking about it...
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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