Mexico could boost GDP by $391 billion if most women worked, report finds

By Kylie Madry

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico could boost its annual economic activity by more than 25%, or $390.5 billion, if women participated in the labor force at the same rate as men, a report estimated on Tuesday.

Key to bringing women into the workforce is improving access to childcare, the report by U.S. think tank the Milken Institute showed. According to World Bank data cited by the report, 45.6% of working-age Mexican women have jobs, while the figure is 77.5% for men.

Raising female employment levels equal to those in the U.S. would tack on $132 billion to Mexico's economy, according to data compiled by the institute. According to U.S. data, 57.3% of women in the nation worked in 2023.

"The number one thing that keeps women out of the workforce is infant care and childcare," said Maggie Switek, who headed the research.

Mexico has one of the highest "child penalties," or the effect of having a child on the male-to-female employment ratio, in the world, the report showed.

"The expansion of high-quality, low-cost childcare remains a clear public policy in which Mexico needs to invest," Switek said, pointing to success in Japan.

Mexico, Latin America's No. 2 economy, has some of the lowest female labor force participation in the region, the institute said.

Nearly 65% of Mexican women want to work, either exclusively or while also taking care of their homes, and 78% of men said they would prefer women working, the institute said.

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, set to be Mexico's first female president, will take office in October. She has promised to bring back "early education centers" run by the government.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)