The Experience of Working Families in Mexico
	Significant changes in Mexican urbanization and industrialization during the 20th century are an important background for understanding recent changes in the paid labor force. In 1930, only one-third of Mexicans were living in urban areas, but by 1997 that proportion had risen to three-quarters. The same time period also saw a corresponding shift from agrarian to non-agrarian work. In 1930, three-quarters of the economically active population were working in the agrarian sector, compared to only one-quarter in 1995. In 1930, 15 percent of Mexican workers worked in manufacturing and 12 percent were employed in the service sector. By 1995, the percentage of Mexican workers employed in manufacturing rose to 25, and over half of the economically active population worked in the service sector. By the end of the century Mexico was the 8th largest export economy in the world. In 1930, only 4 percent of Mexican women ages 12 and older in Mexico worked in the paid labor force. By 1998, the proportion of employed women rose to 37 percent of women. This rise was particularly dramatic during the 1990’s. Yet working women in Mexico continue to earn less on average than working men, and to shoulder the majority of the caregiving burden. Little research has been done on the relationships among work, caregiving responsibilities, and development. Who replaces extended family members as auxiliary child care providers when nuclear families move to cities in search of work? Who supports the elderly when rented apartments and wages replace homesteads and subsistence agriculture? And what of those families that remain in rural areas, yet find themselves forced into wage labor for lack of land? As debates intensify over the role of social services in newly industrializing countries, understanding these new social problems becomes increasingly important. We interviewed working caregivers attending public clinics in Mexico City, the nation’s largest city, and in San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the poor and largely rural state of Chiapas. Clinics in the two locations were chosen to ensure variation in occupation, socioeconomic status, family structure, and ethnicity. The sample included clinics serving public and private sector workers, low- and middle-income families, and indigenous and Latino populations. For more information, please see: Heymann SJ. Forgotten Families: Ending the Growing Crisis Confronting Children and Working Parents in the Global Economy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Bergstrom CA and Heymann SJ. Impact of Gender Disparities in Family Carework on Women’s Life Chances in Chiapas, Mexico. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 2005; 36(2):267-288. Heymann SJ, Fischer A, and Engelman M. Labor Conditions and the Health of Children, Elderly and Disabled Family Members. In: Heymann SJ, ed. Global Inequalities at Work: Work’s Impact on the Health of Individuals, Families, and Societies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Back to In-Depth Interviews
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