Mexico Launches Latin America's First International Feminist Policy
Feminist policies are not just Nordic concepts anymore. The Mexican government published a roadmap last week to put gender at the forefront of its international engagement. By launching a progressive foreign policy, the country hopes to be recognized as a global champion for gender equality efforts.
According to the official press release, Mexico aims “to reduce and eliminate structural differences, gender gaps and inequalities, in order to build a more just and prosperous society.”
Feminist collectives ready to protest femicides and gender violence in Mexico City. Big police presence in the area. #25N #IDEVAW pic.twitter.com/NfeB9ggwa1
— Chantal Flores (@chantal_f) November 25, 2019
“It’s pretty much everything that — over the course of our years of research and consultation — if we could have painted a gold standard, this is pretty close to it,” said Lyric Thompson, director of policy and advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women. “It’s really exciting because Mexico is the first southern country and the first country in the Latin America region to do this.”
In 2015, Mexico allocated USD 1.65 billion from its federal budget — a 157% increase — for gender equality. But it still only accounted for 0.5% of public spending.
Another Latin American country, Nicargua, is higher up on the scale — it’s one of the top five most gender equal in the world.
Image Credit: World Economic Forum
Statistics from Sweden, the first country to adopt similar international feminist policies in 2014, also paint a better picture. But Mexico has still seen the speediest increases in its global gender gap index ranking. The literacy rate for women between the ages of 15 and 24 years old is 98.5% in Mexico. Currently, women will make up 49% of the lower house and 51% of the senate.
Although Mexico has been working on reducing gender inequality in its region, women in the workforce still earn 16.7% less compared to men. Women also generally bear most of the burden in the household and are often subjected to discrimination in the workplace.
While the Mexican government is quick at adopting policies, exactly how well they are implemented is debatable. One out of every three women in Latin America has experienced sexual or physical violence, according to the United Nations, but 98% of gender-related killings in the region are not prosecuted.
Moreover, the number of women who die violently in Mexico is increasing every year — it has gone up to 10 killings per day this year, from seven per day just two years ago, according to the Mexico office of UN Women.
The new generation of women in Mexico are unwilling to back down until sincere efforts are made. And for once, it does seem like the government is listening.