- The World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank and Government of Mexico have joined forces to close economic gender gaps in the country.
- According to the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 67 years to close gender gaps in the region, but effective public-private collaboration can help reverse these negative trends.
- Visit the initiative page here.
Mexico City, Mexico, 20 July 2022 – The Mexican Economy and Tourism secretariats, with support of the World Economic Forum and Inter-American Development (IDB), launched today a Gender Parity Initiative in Mexico, which aims to increase women’s workforce participation, promote more women into economic leadership positions and close gender wage gaps.
“Closing economic gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean remains a critical imperative. We look forward to our partnership with the Government of Mexico, the region’s second-largest economy, as we work to close economic gender gaps through this Gender Parity Accelerator in Mexico,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum.
The COVID-19 pandemic has set back progress to close gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean by a decade. According to the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, it will take 67 years to close gender gaps in the region. However, effective public-private collaboration can help reverse these negative trends.
“This initiative highlights the importance of public-private collaboration to address socioeconomic challenges in the region, including developing the potential of women in the labour market. We are excited to collaborate with the Mexican government, companies and the Inter-American Development Bank to contribute to Mexico’s inclusive and sustainable development,” stated Marisol Argueta, Head of the Forum’s Latin American team.
Mexico joins a Global Learning Network of Gender Parity Accelerators established in 12 countries. Gender Parity Accelerators are national public-private collaboration platforms that help governments and businesses take decisive action to close economic gender gaps. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the accelerators are known as Gender Parity Initiatives (or Iniciativas de Paridad de Género in Spanish). In the region, these initiatives are implemented through a partnership between the World Economic Forum and the Inter-American Development Bank.
In Mexico, the initiative’s objectives are aligned with the pillar of inclusion in Mexico’s trade policy and with the work that the Secretariat of Economy carries out within the framework of the 2030 Agenda to guarantee the inclusion and participation of women in the economy and international trade.
“The implementation of the Gender Parity Initiative in Mexico represents a great step forward in the national effort to close the economic gender gap. Gender equality in the economy will not only benefit women, but will also have a positive effect on the national economy,” said Tatiana Clouthier, Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy.
The strategic direction and implementation of the Mexican initiative will be led by the secretariats of the Economy and Tourism on behalf of the public sector, with the support of the Forum and the IDB. In the coming weeks, representatives from the private sector in tourism, agribusiness, and information and communication technology industries will also be integrated into the leadership group.
“The tourism sector is currently the main employer of young people and the second largest employer of women at the national level, making it an ideal sector pace to increase their presence across tourism activities and the country’s productive life,” said Miguel Torruco, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico.
“Sustainable and inclusive economic growth can only be achieved if gender equality constitutes a cornerstone of the public and private sector work agenda, particularly in the labour market. Employment with a focus on gender equality is essential for growth and is one of the pillars of IDB’s Vision 2025,” added Ernesto Stein, IDB’s Country Representative for Mexico.