Economic restruturing, financial crisis and women's work in Mexico
- 2001
- p.456-77
- Nov
This paper contributes to our understanding of the social impact of economic restructuring and globaliztion in Mexico by analyzing changes in entry-level employment across three generations of Mexican women. Using retrospective data, we relate the divergent period conditions represented by each cohort to the process of labour market incorporation and other facets of first employment, namely first occupation, class of worker, and firm size. The analysis tests human capital, new international division of labor, and household strategy explanations of the response of female employment to macro-economic fluctuations. Results indicate that rising levels of human capital were central to increases in women's labour force participation across generations and improved labor demand conditions during growth cycles were an important impetus for women's incorporation into professional and more formal types of employment. We also find support for international division of labor perspectives, as women's representation in manufacturing (maquiladora) employment grew sustaintially over time. Overall, household survival theories best captured the effect of economic restructuring and globalization on women's work. Economic downturns and financial shocks triggered women's labour market incorporation, particularly among married women, lending strong support to the idea that in periods of economic uncertainty women join the labor ma rket in order to diversify household earnings and protect against deteriorating family incomes. However, this labor market push was concentrated in domestic and self-employed occupations and in smaller firms, findings and portend challenges to the long-term prospects of women's work in Mexico. - Reproduced