Gender, Labor and Social Exclusion in Mexico

Abstract

Starting from an integral view of female labor, this article analyzes the centrality of the sexual and social division of labor in the understanding of the various forms of socio-economic exclusion suffered by women. By analytically linking the concepts of social exclusion and labor segregation, the first part describes some of the social mechanisms underlying these forms of inequity. The second part examines the sexual division of labor in families as a basic means of social segregation. The third part analyzes the various forms of labor segregation through two central forms of differentiation; the paid or unpaid nature of work and its duration (full-time or part-time). It concludes with a description of the implications of the processes of labor segregation for salary discrimination.