The profile of the Mexican employer: a sociocultural issue linked to gender?

Abstract

This study aims to identify the individual characteristics and variables that influence the probability that the workers from Mexico will occupy leadership positions in the formal labor market. Based on 38,878 observations from the National Time Use Survey (ENUT) 2019, it was found that the profile of the employer is determined by the male gender with marital status of married, who works more than 57 hours per week, has a postgraduate level of education and is over 39 years of age. Therefore, people with these characteristics have greater opportunities to position themselves in senior management positions. The relationship between variables was analyzed with a logistic regression model where the dependent variable adopted the values ​​of one if the individual had an employer position and zero if he does not. The results showed a negative sign for the gender variable, which means that women are less likely to hold employer positions. The dominance of males in leadership positions in Mexico is related to sociocultural issues that subject women to unpaid work, caregiving, or lower-ranking positions. Even women who achieve authority positions, dedicate a greater amount of time to domestic activities than men. The unequal distribution of housework negatively impacts the female professional development at country level. The results of this work contribute to the analysis of the differences in the distribution of positions of power at the workplace between men and women.