OECD: Women in Mexico have a low participation rate in the workforce

Mexico

's female participation rate in the workforce is one of the lowest among the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ).

Women in Turkey have a 31.2% participation rate in the workforce followed by Greece with a 43.3% rate, and Mexico with a 45.1% participation rate while the average female participation rate in the workforce established by the organization is 62.8% .

Even though the education level of women is similar to that of men, Mexico has one of the largest gender employment gaps on a global scale resulting in negative consequences for the country's economic growth, according to The pursuit of gender equality: An uphill battle , a study developed by the OECD.

In Mexico , the difference in gender participation in the workforce is 35.1% , only surpassed by Turkey with 42.0% and India with 52.9% while the average established by the organization is 12.2% .

Some of the causes of Mexico's low female participation rate in the workforce are motherhood , household duties and the country's high rates of gender violence and gender inequality .

Motherhood directly affects the gender gap since it has a negative effect on the female participation in the workforce, their remuneration and their professional progression in a country where the public services for child care do not cover the high demand.

Moreover, Mexican women work without pay taking care of the household chores and childcare restricting the time they could spend on paid work.

The high rates of gender violence in private and public spaces along with uneven access to justice increase the gender gap in Mexico's workforce.

However, the OECD recognizes that Mexico is taking several steps to improve the participation of women in economic life such as access to free pre-school enrollment , an increasing number of scholarships and a variety of programs focused on science , technology , engineering , and mathematics targeted to girls opposing gender stereotypes.

OECD's complete study The pursuit of gender equality: An uphill battle can be read at the following link: http://bit.ly/2fEd0gR.

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