The Mexican Workplace: How Women are Taking a Stand

I have recently read an interesting article about the working women of Mexico. The article described how women are treated in the work place on a day to day basis. It said that in a survey taken in 2005 by the First National Survey on Discrimination, 93% women expressed that they have been a victim of discrimination. In the past few years, as increased globalization and trade has occured, women in particular have been relocated from the agriculture scene of work and into maquiladoras. These are factories typically located along the U.S. border where goods are assembled or finished for exportation. Women working in maquiladoras are subjected to sexual harassment by coworkers and supervisors, required to undergo pregnancy testing when applying for work, and forced to endure further pregnancy discrimination after they have been hired.

Mexican legislation does guarantee some rights to women, such as equal protection under the law and the right to work. Mexican women workers can and should demand protection for their human rights under international and regional human rights law. Unfortunatly, the legislation will not pass any law, code or restriction saying it is wrong. Many groups that are helping to enforce a law against discrimination include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ("CEDAW"), the American Charter on Human Rights, and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation ("NAALC"), and the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"). All of these groups include provisions regarding gendered labor discrimination.

Women in Mexico are now working with the Mexican government inorder to fulfill its obligation under human rights law to protect women from discrimination in the workplace. It is a work in progress, but much headway has been made.