Mexico's women face high informal textile jobs and wage gap

A UN Women‑commissioned study finds that 76 % of women employed in Mexico's textile manufacturing sector work in informal conditions, compared with 53 % of men. About 77 % lack access to social‑security benefits and women average 52 hours of work per week, double the domestic‑care burden of men. The report highlights gender‑based barriers, widespread harassment and discrimination, and describes the situation as a "cycle of precarisation" that limits stability and development, according to Brando Fisher of Ethos Innovación en Políticas Públicas.

Data released by Mexico City’s Secretariat of Citizen Participation shows women earn 34.2 % less than men on a quarterly basis. Average earnings are 23,714 pesos for women versus 36,047 pesos for men, with the gap evident across all age groups. Women head 47.9 % of households, devote about 40.9 hours weekly to unpaid care work, and 45.7 % of female‑headed homes live in poverty, underscoring the economic vulnerability tied to wage disparity and labor precarity.