# Gender economic disparities in Colombia and Mexico

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/gender-economic-disparities-in-colombia-and-mexico
> Updated: 2026-08-19T16:00:37.000Z. Sources: 2. Developments: 2.

Gender-based economic disparities persist in Colombia and Mexico, characterized by high rates of informality and limited leadership roles for women.

In Colombia, data indicates that while women own a slight majority of urban micro-businesses (51.6%), most operate informally. Approximately 88.9% lack commercial registration and 86.1% have not utilized formal financial services in the past year. As businesses scale from subsistence levels to medium-sized enterprises, female representation as legal representatives drops from 61% to 37.4%, and their involvement in financial decision-making falls from 36.3% to 11.2%.

In Mexico, despite improvements in certain regions like Yucatán regarding education and safety, informal employment among women remains high at 62.7%. While female labor participation reached 46.3% in 2024, women remain underrepresented in technical sectors, such as heavy vehicle maintenance, where participation is only 11.5%. Efforts to address this include initiatives like Scania Mexico’s ‘Técnicas e Ingenieras del Futuro’ program, which recently graduated its first cohort of women for maintenance and service roles.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-19: Gender disparities persist in Mexican technical sectors and Colombian business leadership

New data from Mexico and Colombia show persistent gender gaps, with women underrepresented in technical automotive roles and losing decision-making power as businesses expand in size.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gender-disparities-persist-in-mexican-technical-sectors-and-colombian-business-leadership

### 2026-07-30: Women entrepreneurs in Colombia and Mexico confront informal, precarious conditions

Colombia women own 51.6% of urban micro‑businesses but most are informal, home‑based and lack registration or bank access; Mexico’s Yucatán ranks fourth in boosting women’s economic activity yet 62.7% of its女性劳

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/women-entrepreneurs-in-colombia-and-mexico-confront-informal-precarious-conditions

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Cite as: Gender economic disparities in Colombia and Mexico. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/gender-economic-disparities-in-colombia-and-mexico