Mexico2Equal

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Mexico2Equal (in Spanish, Empresas Mexicanas X la Equidad or EM-X) is an IFC initiative, in partnership with the government of Japan, that seeks to reduce gender gaps and promote diversity and inclusion in the Mexican work force. EM-X brings together 17 national and transnational companies to build their capacity and make commitments on gender and inclusion, benefiting more than 450,000 employees. The Mexico2Equal program was implemented in 2022.

Closing gender gaps in the labor market is a key opportunity for Mexico, the second economy with the highest GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean. If women participated in equal proportion to men in the Mexican labor market, there would be a 22% increase in per capita income, one of the highest percentages among OECD countries (World Bank 2020). Only 44% of Mexican women of working age are part of the labor force, compared to 75% of men, not to mention that women earn 9.6% less than men (ILO 2022). Furthermore, according to the World Economic Forum (2021), only 15% of Mexican companies have a woman in the highest management position (CEO or equivalent). Closing these gaps is associated with a 13% increase in return on assets and can contribute to improving retention, productivity, and quality of work (Aequales 2020).

It is essential to implement actions to balance and alleviate the burdens of household and care work that fall disproportionately on women, promote female leadership within companies and in supply chains, and prevent and mitigate gender-based violence, among others. Facilitating women's full participation and promoting diversity in the labor market will contribute to a more equitable and inclusive economy and country.

IFC is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in the private sector by closing persistent gender gaps that limit women's participation in the labor market. The Mexico2Equal program is comprised of three key components:

1. Research and data: IFC will publish a study of gender gaps in the private sector in Mexico and is documenting good practices to be replicated in a series of case studies.
   
2. Peer learning platform: This platform, the first of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean, brought together the 17 participating companies to share knowledge, strengthen their capacities, and take concrete actions on gender and inclusion issues.
   
   As a fundamental part of the program, each company committed to various actions according to their priorities, totaling 67 actions. Some examples of the commitments include: conducting pay gap studies; increasing the representation of women in leadership positions; implementing actions to support working mothers and fathers; preventing and responding to harassment, bullying and gender-based violence; diversifying the supply chain; among many others.
   
   Additionally, companies participated in a series of training workshops and events to exchange best practices in gender equity, diversity and inclusion. Mexico2Equal activities covered topics such as: recruiting, retaining, reintegrating, and promoting women in the workforce; developing family-friendly policies; preventing and responding to bullying, harassment, and gender-based violence; gender-responsive procurement; and diversity and inclusion strategies for people with disabilities, LGBTI people, and the bottom of the pyramid; among others.
   
3. Direct advisory to companies: IFC will provide direct advisory to empower selected participating companies to develop and implement additional actions to further deepen their gender and inclusion commitments.

Mexico2Equal companies represent diverse sectors, including financial institutions, agriculture, manufacturing, payment aggregators, retail, digital economy, tourism, and energy. This group includes: BioParques de Occidente, Citibanamex, Clip, Conekta, El Puerto de Liverpool, FEMSA, Google, Grupo Altex, Grupo Coppel, Grupo Siete Leguas, Grupo Xcaret, HSBC, Konfio, Mastercard, PayPal, Sempra Infraestructura, and Uber.

In 2022, Mexico2Equal benefited more than 450,000 people employed by 17 companies in Mexico through concrete actions on gender and inclusion issues. As part of Mexico2Equal, 8 learning workshops and 4 networking sessions were held to generate the exchange of best practices among the 17 participating companies.

On Monday, January 30, 2023, the 17 participating companies joined IFC's leadership in Mexico to mark the formal closing of the Mexico2Equal peer learning platform, and to celebrate their achievements after a year of work. The event featured a presentation on the main results of the program, the companies received a certificate for their participation in EM-X, and there was a space for dialogue among the attendees.

#Mexico2Equal, #EmpresasMexicanasXLaEquidad, #EM-X