The scenario is worse when we take into account the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused unprecedented job losses, mainly for women. The female population also lags behind when it comes to access to financial services, the ILO notes that even before the pandemic, 56% of people who did not have a bank account were women.
Gender gap = precarious retirement
According to the National Commission for the Defense and Protection of Financial Services Users (Condusef), there are a number of factors that prevent Mexican women from achieving the same opportunities as men, some of which are:
wage inequality
- This situation has direct repercussions upon reaching retirement age, since, if we take into account that men receive a 24% higher salary, at the end of their career they will receive a 14% higher pension balance, compared to that of women, according to the Consar.
truncated trajectory
- Many women find it necessary to pause their work career to dedicate themselves exclusively to housework and caring for their family. In this sense, although they later resume their working lives, the time away from this space has a direct impact on their individual Afore account; As a result, your savings will be insufficient to retire in a dignified manner.
casual work
- Women represent approximately 60% of the people who work informally, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). In this field, they do not accumulate the minimum weeks of contributions to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) or the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) as a requirement for their retirement and pension.