Changes in the Economic Role of Women in Mexican Couples

Abstract

This article focuses on the study of recent major changes in the economic role of women in Mexican couples in the principal urban areas of Mexico. Emphasis on the couple, traditionally identified as the head of household and his spouse, in household surveys is not only based on the fact that wives have experienced the most significant changes in their economic participation during the past decade, but also on the centrality of couples in the study of gender relations. Our empirical work starts from the premise that wives' economic dependence is one of the central mechanisms through which women are subordinated in society, and that the generation of an independent income from work is a critical material basis for decision-making by women. Information from the National Urban Employment Surveys for the period from 1987 to 1997 shows that although the economic dependence of women in Mexican couples has decreased, it is still high in comparison with the levels observed in more developed countries. Moreover, during the previous decade, the greater participation of spouses was not reflected in an increase in their monetary contributions. Generally speaking, the economic behavior of spouses seems to be more a product of pressing economic circumstances than the result of profound transformations in women's social condition in Mexican society. This study empirically demonstrates the importance of analyzing existing labor arrangements in Mexican couples. This enables one to appreciate the complementary nature of the economic activity of couples and their entrepreneurial nature, since the second most common combination among economically active couples after both members of a couple working as salaried employees with fringe benefits is the combination of a head of household who is either the head of a firm or self-employed and his unpaid, working spouse. The evidence also shows that the working conditions of heads of household and their spouses deteriorated significandy during the last decade and that this situation affected couples at various stages of the family life cycle. The relevance of focusing the analysis on the labor arrangements of couples is confirmed by the results of multivariate regression, which clearly show that the economic participation of spouses, as well as their contribution to their partners' income, is not merely linked to women's individual and familial characteristics but also to the labor conditions of heads of household.