The current state of Mexico regarding women's economic inclusion is quite worrying: only 47% of Mexican women are part of the workforce, most of them working in the informal sector and/or in job positions with low wages and lacking in growth opportunities (OECD). The newest publication by Laboratoria together with SAP Mexico shows the adversities faced by women when they try to incorporate themselves in Mexico’s technology sector, as well as the identified findings on the social and economic impact created by the discrimination of women.
This situation is even worse within the historically “male” technology sector, where only 10% of professional programmers are women, and even fewer hold high-influence positions (EQUALS). While the low involvement of women in the workforce is the cause and an example of the current gender gap in the country, what happens in the technology sector, due to its impact, is even more alarming.
Nowadays, the world is at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution: a time when the world economy is increasingly becoming a digital one, and in which knowledge related to technology is not only an area of specialization but also a transversal tool. Within this context, technology represents a great opportunity: for Mexican women to have access to better job conditions, for Mexican companies to grow their businesses, and for Mexico as a country to be more competitive and to have a more equitable society.
However, with the lack of women in the current technology sector, these big changes in the economy also carry a great risk: women’s exclusion might be reinforced in this industry, and instead of reducing the level of inequality, it could be exacerbated. Therefore, implementing measures to guarantee women’s inclusion becomes a pressing issue. Only through concrete actions, such as building a close relationship between companies, the government and civil society organizations, will we be able to close the gender gap in the tech industry, and together make the most of having more female developers in tech.
*Translated by Macarena Jorquera
