Gender and water governance in Mexico

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at how water management reflects patriarchal considerations or gender biases that inflict a penalty upon Mexican women and enumerates recommendations that can both ameliorate water management across Mexico. Design/methodology/approach Peer-reviewed scholarly materials, carefully vetted for empirical worth, for the clarity and soundness of their research methodologies, and for their capacity to account for confounding or complicating factors, are reviewed. Special attention is given to studies, found in academic databases such as EBSCOHost, conducted in the years 2013–2018. Findings The Mexican state has finally made some progress in recognizing the hurdles women face in attaining educational equality, but there is not yet the universal application and comity that would ensure appropriate levels of representation in all communities. Mexico will have to do more to compel local actors to give greater credence to the voices of women. Research limitations/implications There is a need for further primary research to more comprehensively capture what actions women are taking to carve out a large policy-making space for themselves in a country that has only quite recently begun to realize the contributions women can make to forward-looking water governance policy. Originality/value The uneasy confluence between water governance and gender within the Mexican context is an area of growing concern to those interested in how water management systems and protocols shape broader social justice and equality developments across Mexico.