Structural and Cohort Effects on Women’s Attitudes toward Gender Egalitarianism in Mexico

Abstract

Women’s attitudes toward egalitarianism rest on a number of micro and macro conditions. Their education level and labor force participation significantly influence their attitudes toward gender equality. We apply a cohort change model to explain attitudes toward gender equality in Mexico using data from the 2011 National Survey on the Dynamics of Households Relationships (ENDIREH). Hierarchical linear modeling of data shows that younger women are more likely to adopt egalitarian attitudes than older women. Within birth cohorts, attitudes toward gender equality diverge significantly between employed and unemployed women. Availability of job opportunities resulting from labor market transformations appears to play an important and independent role in the growth of egalitarianism in Mexico. We find that the impact of education on gender egalitarianism starts decreasing with age and then increases for women born before the 1980s. We will discuss implications of the findings.