The lack of a national care system causes women to be the first to leave the labor market, stated the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (Imco).
According to data from the National Survey for the Care System (ENASIC) 2022 from Inegi, nine out of every 10 people who leave the labor market to care for children, the elderly or the sick are women.
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Furthermore, women dedicate 1.5 times more time to care tasks than men: they dedicate 37.9 hours a week, while men dedicate 25.6 hours.
“Care is one of the main barriers for more women to continue their professional career, since it reduces their participation in the labor market and, as a consequence, their economic autonomy,” Imco said in a statement.
In the country, 31.6 million people aged 15 and over provide care without receiving remuneration in exchange, which represents 32 percent of the population. However, three out of four caregivers are women, specifically mothers, who tend to reduce their working hours or even leave their jobs.
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Women usually look for jobs that can combine their professional life with care, however, in the absence of these, they tend to reduce the time they dedicate to the labor market, which can have an impact on their level of income and, consequently, reduce their They spend or borrow money four times more than men due to their role as caregivers, that is, unpaid care reduces women’s economic autonomy.
On the contrary, more than half of the women who manage to find a job and continue with their caregiving tasks say they feel tired or have decreased their sleep time as a result of their caregiving activity, compared to two out of 10 men. the institute added.
It is necessary to balance the distribution of care tasks
The Imco considered that it is necessary to take this information as a reference when designing public and business policies so that the care system is a shared responsibility between the State, companies and households.
However, he considered that it is also important not to set aside cultural beliefs and perceptions around care tasks, since nine out of 10 Mexicans consider that taking care of people in the home is the responsibility of the families themselves.
Furthermore, the majority of the population does not agree with taking children to a daycare or daycare center.
2023-10-16 19:32:01
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