Gender Pay Gap in Mexico: Men Earn 25% More Than Women, Study Finds

Mexico City — Men in Mexico earn 25% more than women on average, with the wage gap widening to 45% among workers with the lowest education levels, according to a new report released ahead of International Women’s Day.

The study from the Social Observatory of the Center for Studies Espinosa Yglesias (CEEY), published Friday, analyzed data from the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE) for the fourth quarter of 2025. It found that income disparities exceed 35% for individuals with only primary or secondary education.

This finding is particularly significant because most of Mexico’s population only completes secondary school, the observatory noted, citing the 2023 ESRU Survey on Social Mobility in Mexico.

While the pay gap tends to narrow with higher education, inequality persists even among college graduates. Men with bachelor’s degrees earn about 26% more than women with the same level of education, and the difference exceeds 22% among those with postgraduate degrees.

The report highlights that these disparities occur in a context of limited social mobility, where women face greater obstacles partly due to lower labor market participation linked to unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities.

“Caregiving responsibilities, along with gender inequalities in the labor market, are factors that limit women’s job opportunities and their access to better-paid employment,” the observatory stated.

According to the CEEY, 76% of caregivers in Mexico are women, meaning much unpaid care work falls on them. This reduces the hours they can dedicate to formal employment and limits their professional development opportunities.

The study also linked these inequalities to structural labor market phenomena like the “sticky floor,” which keeps many women concentrated in lower-paying jobs, and the “glass ceiling,” which hinders their access to higher-ranking, better-paid positions.

The observatory warned that reducing the wage gap requires public policies that promote shared responsibility in caregiving, expand access to childcare services, and foster more equitable working conditions.