Mexico develops national policy to address unpaid care work gender gap

In Mexico, unpaid care work—including cooking, cleaning, and caring for children or the elderly—falls disproportionately on women, who account for 72 percent of these tasks. Experts warn that this inequality perpetuates the gender gap and limits female autonomy and economic opportunities.

To address this, the Mexican government, under President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, is working toward the creation of a National and Integral Care Policy. The initiative aims to treat caregiving as a social responsibility rather than a private burden, seeking to alleviate the domestic load on women and promote substantive equality.

Malú Mícher, president of the Senate Gender Equality Commission, noted that this represents a turning point in the relationship between feminist movements and state institutions. She emphasized the need for inter-institutional coordination and adequate budgetary justice to ensure these policies are effectively implemented.