Women in the informal labor sector

Throughout the 20th century women in Mexico have endured poverty and found it necessary to venture out into the workplace as a means of subsistence . The increase in industrialism during the time following the Mexican revolutions changed the methods of work within Mexico City and transformed workers ' lives . This era saw more women entering the work force . The type of work granted women in Mexico was mainly in the areas of cigarette and garment making (Porter , 2003 . Such occupation ensured that Mexican women spent several hours a day working in factories and

performing repetitive actions . These women routinely worked double shifts , and though lower working hours were generally granted to married women , even these women were often required to work well beyond the normal working day (Tusun . However , women soon began branching out into a wider variety of occupations , and especially since the 1995-95 economic crisis , many women have entered the informal labor force

The male dominated culture has traditionally kept women from advancing in Mexican business , and this has been a major contributor to women 's strong position in the informal economy . This is specifically due to the general uneducated nature of the female population , as well as the patriarchal mentality that prevents qualified women from being hired over men (Nolan , The official age of the female workforce lies between 20 and 24 , though since the crisis this has increased to 39 years . In contrast to this , the age range of women in economies of developed countries rises up to 60 years and beyond (In Mexico City proper , the percentage of females employed in the informal economy is approximately 49 (ILO , 2002 . Since the informal economy accounts for approximately 64 of all Mexico 's commerce , women do contribute significantly to the economy . However , the compensation granted them as a result of their being a part of the informal economy in a developing country is far below that of their counterparts in the developed world (2002

Women in Mexico City are by far more able to get work in the domestic and agricultural fields than in any area of labor (ILO , 2002 . Some of these women , having no other skills , must settle for such work that no one else will perform . The nature of the tasks themselves , such as cleaning toilets and handling other unsavory waste , makes it likely that the women work out of desperation and for very low wages . Other work done in agriculture and manufacturing is done in entrepreneurial fashion , but at such small scales that the profits to be gained are marginal . Despite this , the money earned by these women is approximately three times as high as the minimum wage that currently exists in the country (2002 . Furthermore , this wage level lies below the per capita income received on a national level - placing women still within a dominant position in the country

A significant portion of the work done in the informal economy is actually done for legitimate firms , but through subcontracts where workers work off...