Women Entrepreneurs in Mexico: Visibility and the National Statistical System. Gina Zabludovsky ( UNAM) E Mail:

Transcription

1 Women Entrepreneurs in Mexico: Visibility and the National Statistical System Gina Zabludovsky ( UNAM) E Mail: ginaza@servidor.unam.mx Paper prepared for delivery at the 2001 meeting of the Latin American Studies Association," Washington DC, September 6-8,

2 Women Entrepreneurs in National Statistical System Mexico: Visibility and the By Gina Zabludovsky UNAM E Mail: ginaza@servidor.unam.mx Paper prepared for delivery at the "2001 Meeting of Latin American Studies Association," Washington DC, September 6-8, The presence of women entrepreneurs in the National Employment Survey." 1. General Trends: According to the data collected by the Census Bureau 33% (1999) of the employed labor force is composed of women and 67.% of men which means that one third of the labor force is constituted by women. 1 However, in the urban areas of the country, which this study focused on, the percentage of employed women is Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática-INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography)- Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) 1999, México, D. F., 2,000 2 Due to the fact that the presence of women and men as entrepreneurs is more important in the urban areas of the country, the data of this report will be taken from the urban areas and not from the rural parts of the Mexican Republic. 2

3 MALE AND FEMALE POPULATION BY OCCUPATION CATEGORIES TOTAL MEN % WOMEN % Professionals 853, , % 304, % Technicians and specialized personnel 803, , % 320, % Teachers and similar 700, , % 444, % Art workers 138,413 88, % 49, % Government officials, private sector 510, , % 111, % managers Agricultural managers 12,167 12, % 0 0% Office workers 2,475,942 1,127, % 1,348, % Commerce, sales workers and clerks 2,755,946 1,577, % 1,178, % Street vendors 622, , % 264, % Service employees 1,579, , % 674, % Domestic service 832, , % 713, % Transportation operators 988, , % 8, % Security services 512, , % 40, % Agricultural foremen 8,364 8, % % Agricultural workers 123, , % 11, % Agricultural machine operators 2,751 2, % % Supervisors and industrial foremen 569, , % 114, % Artisans and workers 3,836,220 2,967, % 868, % Unskilled workers 1,119, , % 235, % Non-specified 10,248 9, % % Total 18,456,516 11,764, % 6,691, % Source: Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (Urban Areas), 1999 The presence of women is especially important in specific areas such as service in restaurants and hotels, where they represent a slight majority (48.1%) compared to men. In the various services area the number of women is also similar to men (48.2% and 51.8% respectively).in commerce and trade women comprise 48..2% of the total employed population. (Table 2) In contrast, women have an extremely low participation in traditionally masculine sectors such as mining and quarry exploitation and construction. (Table 2) Table 2 MALE AND FEMALE LABOR FORCE BY INDUSTRY CATEGORIES TOTAL MEN % WOMEN % Agricultural and animal 146, , % 15, % Mining and quarry 12,616 11, % 1, % Oil production and refining 69,479 61, % 8, % 3

4 Manufacturing 4,199,832 2,879, % 1,320, % Electric power 100,325 84, % 16, % Construction 942, , % 27, % Commerce 3,762,376 2,177, % 1,584, % Hotels, restaurants and similar 1,059, , % 510, % Transportation and connected services 1,018, , % 87, % Communications 146,518 87, % 58, % Financial, real estate and business 1,219, , % 459, % services Other services 4,564,115 2,364, % 2,199, % Public management and defense 1,105, , % 373, % Non specified 109,414 80, % 28, % Total 18,456,516 11,764, % 6,691, % Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) If we take the population of men and women separately, it is possible to observe that the two activity areas which together concentrate most of the female population are the various services area (39.9% of the total rate of employed women) and trade (23.9%). These are followed by manufacturing (19.70%); services at restaurants and hotels (7.16%) and financial, real estate and business services (6..86%) (Table 3). Table 3 FEMALE LABOR FORCE BY INDUSTRY CATEGORIES WOMEN % Other services 2,199, % Commerce 1,584, % Manufacturing 1,320, % Hotels, restaurants and similar 510, % Financial, real estate and business 459, % services Public management and defense 373, % Transportation and connected services 87, % Communications 58, % Non specified 28, % Construction 27, % Electric power 16, % Agricultural and livestock 15, % Oil production and refining 8, % Mining and quarry 1, % Total 6,691, % Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey)

5 As far as the male population is concerned % works in manufacturing. The various services areas and commerce come in second and third places (20.10% and 18.51% respectively). This is followed by transportation and connected services (7.9%) where women s presence is extremely low (Table 4). Table 4 MALE LABOR FORCE BY INDUSTRY CATEGORIES MEN % Manufacturing 2,879, % Other services 2,364, % Commerce 2,177, % Transportation and connected services 931, % Construction 914, % Financial, real estate and business 760, % services Public management and defense 731, % Hotels, restaurants and similar 549, % Agricultural and livestock 131, % Communications 87, % Electric power 84, % Non specified 80, % Oil production and refining 61, % Mining and quarry 11, % Total 11,764, % Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) Male and female population compared to the type of occupation Although women represent 36.2% of the labor force, their participation in one of the most poorly paid fields of work, that of domestic workers (maids), is over 85.68%. (Table 1) There is also a clear majority of women in the teaching area, where they represent the 63.45% of the national rate. (Table 1) As office workers women represent a slight majority (54.45%) in comparison to men (Table 1). In contrast, women do not participate in certain agricultural occupations such as operating heavy agricultural machinery, and have a scarce presence as transport operators (0.87%%) and as supervisors in agriculture and livestock activities (2.89) (Table 1) 5

6 The highest percentage of working women is employed as office workers (20.15%) an in areas such as trade, commerce and sales clerks (17.61%) artisans and workers (12.9%), domestic workers (10.66.%) and service employees (10.08%) (Table 5) Table 5 FEMALE POPULATION BY OCCUPATION CATEGORIES WOMEN % Office workers 1,348, % Commerce, sales workers and clerks 1,178, % Artisans and workers 868, % Domestic service 713, % Service employees 674, % Teachers and similar 444, % Technicians and specialized personnel 320, % Professionals 304, % Street vendors 264, % Unskilled workers 235, % Supervisors and industrial foremen 114, % Government officials, private sector 111, % managers Art workers 49, % Security services 40, % Agricultural workers 11, % Transportation operators 8, % Non-specified % Agricultural machine operators % Agricultural foremen % Agricultural managers % Total 6,691, % Source: Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) 1999 With respect to men, 25.2% are employed as artisans and workers ) and trade, commerce and sales clerks come in second (13.41%) Men have a small presence as office workers (9.55%), followed by service employees (7.69%) and transportation operators (8.33%) (Table 6) 6

7 Table 6 MALE POPULATION BY OCCUPATION CATEGORIES MEN % Artisans and workers 2,967, % Commerce, sales, workers and clerks 1,577, % Office workers 1,127, % Transportation operators 980, % Service employees 904, % Unskilled workers 883, % Professionals 549, % Technicians and specialized personnel 482, % Security services 471, % Supervisors and industrial foremen 454, % Government officials private sector 398, % managers Street vendors 358, % Teachers and similar 256, % Domestic service 119, % Agricultural workers 112, % Art workers 88, % Agricultural managers 12, % Non-specified 9, % Agricultural and livestock 8, % Agricultural machine operators 2, % Total 11,764, % Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) 1999 The data quoted above show that while most women are employed in trade, commerce and as sales clerks, artisans and workers, office workers, domestic workers and service employees; men are concentrated in occupations such as artisans and workers. Trade and sales clerks comes in second place followed by office workers and service employees. 7

8 1.2 The presence of women entrepreneurs in Mexico. The rise in labor force participation of women in Mexico has been one of the fastest of all countries in Latin America increasing from 20.6% in 1970 to 33.5% in With regard to entrepreneurship, women represent 30.3 % of the business owners of the country (including own-account workers and employers). If we consider women entrepreneurs as only those who are business owners and also employers, their percentage is 16.7% (Tables 7 and 8). Table 7 MALE AND FEMALE LABOR FORCE BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS WORK POSITION TOTAL MEN % WOMEN % Employers 855, , % Own account workers Salary workers 12,355,746 7,623, ,732, Piece workers 1,227, , , Non paid workers 744, , , Other workers Total ,516 11,764, Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, Data from INEGI (Urban areas), Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) Table 8 MALE AND FEMALE BUSINESS OWNERS (EMPLOYERS AND OWN ACCOUNT WORKERS) BUSINESS OWNERS TOTAL % (Employers and own account workers) Men 2,877, Women 1,249, Total 4,127, Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (urban areas), Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey)

9 Due to the great differences between employers and own-account workers for purposes of the different surveys that we have conducted in the country, we have considered women entrepreneurs to be only those women business owners who are employers, meaning that they hire at least one employee besides themselves. With this understanding of the term, entrepreneur is considered as a synonym of employer or business owner (excluding own account workers). If we consider only the female population, we can see that the majority is employed as salaried workers (70.7), a situation similar to that among men, where a slight majority is also employed as salaried workers (64..8%). The percentage of selfemployed workers is also relatively similar between the population of female and male workers (16.6% and 18..4% respectively). As employers women only represent 2.1%, in contrast with 6 % of men in this item. (Tables 3 and 4) 3 Table 3 FEMALE LABOR FORCE BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS WORK POSITION WOMEN % Salary workers 4,732, Own account workers 1,107, Non paid workers 464, Piece workers 245, % Employers 141, Others 56 0 Total 6,691, Table 4 MALE LABOR FORCE BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS WORK POSITION MEN % Salary workers 7,623, Own account workers 2,164, Piece workers 932, Employers 713, Non paid workers 279, Others 2,037 Total 11,764, Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) However, the most dramatic difference appears in the category of non-paid workers ; while 9.31% of working females are not getting any pay for their work, among men this condition reaches only 3.25%. 9

10 Women owned- business: number of employees sector of activity and age of firms. Women have a particular importance as owners and directors of micro business. As a matter of fact, most of the businesses in Mexico are micro business. According to national statistics, 80.% of the entrepreneurs (men and women) employ from 2 to 5 persons. 4 However this rate is higher among women than among men. Whereas 79 % of men employers hire from 2 to 5 persons, among women the percentage increases to 83% (Tables 5 and 6) Table 5 FEMALE EMPLOYERS. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WOMEN % Up to 5 117, to 10 8, to 15 13, to 50 2, More than Non specified 0 0 Total 141, Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) 1999 Table 6 MALE EMPLOYERS. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES MEN % Up to 5 564, to 10 71, to 15 24, to 50 40, More than 51 13, Non specified Total Source. Developed by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas) Encuesta Nacional de Empleo (National Employment Survey) INEGI. Op.Cit. 10

11 As the number of employees increases in a company, the probability of finding women employers decreases. In the firms that employ up to 5 workers, the number of women entrepreneurs ranks 17%, and those that have 16 or more, the presence of woman entrepreneurs drops to 5%. This situation was also confirmed with other kinds of studies. Our own survey 5, made in Mexico City in 1998, showed that women have a particular importance as owners and directors of micro businesses. Among firms with up to 16 employees, the share of women owners in relation to men increases to 20%, while in small businesses (16 to 100 employees) the share of women - owned firms barely reaches 11% and it decreases to only 4% of the medium and large businesses (100 or more employees). The percentage of micro business among the 300 men interviewed is 48%, while among women it goes up to 80%. The remaining businesses owned by women are small (16%), and only 4% are medium and large 6. As we have seen, women business owners in the most urbanized zones of the country comprises 16.7% of the total entrepreneurs. However, the percentage of women entrepreneurs shows sharp variations in relation to different types of business. The highest rate of women compared with men is found in hotels, restaurants and similar areas (where they represent 47%) followed by communications and media (42.2) and leasing and financial al services (33.3%). 7 In contrast, there are very few women entrepreneurs in such areas as mining and construction 8 (Table 7). These data confirm previous studies where similar trends where detected 9. 5 Zabludovsky in collaboration with National Foundations for Women Business Owners, Women Business Owners in Mexico, Am Emerging Economic Force, UNAM, Mexico, Zabludovsky in collaboration with NFWBO, Op. Cit. 7 Zabludovsky in collaboration with NFWBO, Op. Cit., pp INEGI, Op. Cit. 9 For more information about the previous findings you can consult the following articles: Zabludovsky Gina Hacia un perfil de la mujer empresaria en México, El Cotidiano 53, UAM A, 1993.; Presencia de las empresarias en México, diagnóstico comparativo regional y mundial, en Revista Mexicana de Sociología, Vol 57 Num 4, Institito de Investigaciones Sociales, México,

12 Table 7 MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYERS BY INDUSTRY CATEGORIES TOTAL MEN % WOMEN % Agricultural and animal 27,084 26, Mining and quarry Oil production and refining 1, Manufacturing 139, , , Electric power Construction 105, , Commerce 186, , Hotels, restaurants and similar 60,618 32, , Transportation and connected 62,673 59, , services Communications 1, Financial, real state and Business services 99,887 66, , Other services , Public management and defense Non specified 168, , , Total 855, , , Source. Elaborated by Gina Zabludovsky, data from INEGI (Urban areas), Encuesta Nacional de Empleo However, the statistics show that women-owned businesses are becoming increasingly diversified. The presence of women is no longer restricted to traditional sectors. There are many activities in which the percentage of women approaches 16.7%, which is their representation in the total number of businesses in the metropolitan areas. Everyday there are more women a wide variety of sectors, including industrial activities as durable manufacturing, where until a few years ago very few women could be found Up to this point, several facts have been analyzed related to existing data obtained in the national employment survey. However, in order to make international comparisons and achieve greater conceptual precision, it is important to try to reach a consensus on the definitions supporting the information. 12

13 2.- ANALYZING GENDER AND COUNTRY DIFFERENCES. THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING SIMILAR CONCEPTS. Comparative studies of the situation of women entrepreneurs worldwide have gained greater importance in recent years. For example, we have the research conducted by NFWBO and the papers presented at the United Nations meetings, such as the Expert Group Meeting on Women in Economic Decision Making that was held in 1994 to draft a platform on this topic that was incorporated into the proposals of the Beijing Conference on Women. Other international organizations have also encouraged this type of research, including the the United Nations ( 1994) APEC, and the OECD (1997 and 2000) In this last part of the paper,, I would like to stress the importance of defining the proper terminology and common concepts that allow us to make reliable comparative studies. We should take advantage of this meeting to reach certain agreements to establish precise concepts, without which making international comparisons can prove to be a risky matter. As a result of my research on the topic, I have found a lack of clarity in several fundamental terms. Oftentimes the studies conducted in different countries are based on a concept of women's business activities that has not been clearly defined, which leads to much confusion and unreliable comparisons. The following are some examples of this situation: 1) The definition of entrepreneur and business owner and the relation of the same to other terms such as "own account workers", "self-employed" and "employer" As I said before,, the figures depend on the definitions and can vary greatly depending on these definitions: if women entrepreneurs in Mexico are considered to be all self-employed (employers and own-account workers), the percentage is 30%; however, if only those who are employers are considered, the percentage decreases to 16.7%. If we consider other more restrictive definitions, which I have also come across, such as the one that considers that a woman is a "firm owner when there are more than 6 employees", then it is logical to assume that the number of women entrepreneurs is significantly reduced. 13

14 Other definitions are added to that of women entrepreneurs, such as those related to the size of the company and the concepts of formal and informal economy, for example. 2) The definition of the ranks of company sizes. In general terms, these ranks are linked to the number of employees and the amounts of sales. However, due to the reluctance to provide data on the latter, generally, the number of employees is what is taken into account. In Mexico, a micro business is one with less than 6 workers, if it is a commercial company and less than 16 if it is a manufacturer. A small company is one with up to 100 employees and a medium company is one with over 101 employees while a company with over 251 employees is a large company. 10 Nevertheless, these figures vary among the Mexican institutions that compile information, as well as those at the world level. So there are several problems: can a "small company" be considered under the same guidelines in Europe and the United States, in Mexico and Latin America and in the African countries or are there also different measurements for "micro", "small" and "medium" companies depending on a country's level of development? Also, as Gunsely Baygan points out ". the size classification alone does not demonstrate the full facts: the size differential could be coming from differences in the age structure of the firms or simply from the characteristics of the industry, which these operate" 11 There are further considerations. For example, how should the difference between high-tech companies that have exportation capabilities (but have only 5 employees) be considered in comparison with establishments or workshops that also have 5 employees and work in economically precarious conditions with no technology at all? Is it valid to consider that in both cases we are dealing with "micro" businesses? 10 Sources: INEGI, Encuesta Nacional de Micronegocios, México 1996; Secretaria de Comercio y Fomento Industrial y Diario Oficial (decretos 1985 y 1990). 11 "The women -owned or managed firms could be younger, hence smaller", see Baygan Günsely, "Women-owned business and enterprise demography; a progress report", OECD,

15 3) The definition of entrepreneurship in relation to regular and non-regular forms of labor participation. When we talk about women entrepreneurs, are we considering those who belong to the "formal economy" or are we also including the "informal economy"? This question is linked to what these concepts are understood to be. In Mexico, a company is usually considered to be in the informal economy when it has not completed governmental procedures to be registered (particularly with the Ministry of Finance and the Social Security Institute). Logically, the lack of registration is linked to other circumstances such as the availability and characteristics of the locale - whether it in a private home or is a street peddler's stand. However, I have found studies conducted in other countries, where the term "informal economy" is not always used in this way, but rather seems to depend on other factors 12. As Baygan points out, statistics obtained from establishment-based surveys are limited in nature and usually targeted to regular employees who work in medium and large establishments 13. However due to certain kinds of surveys such as the Encuesta Nacional de Micronegocios (National Survey of Micro Business) in countries such as Mexico we have important quantitative and qualitative gender disaggregated information about what is going on in the micro enterprises with non regular forms of labor force participation. Paradoxically, we do not have the same statistical sources of information for the study of small and medium formal enterprises where - according to my own surveys - the presence of women as business owners is also growing. Independently of the differences between countries and their respective statistical instruments, the time has probably come to discuss some of the former definitions of "informality " to thus be able to place in context and compare adequately the different situations in which women business owners are active on a local, national and world level. 12 Thus for example, some studies consider that the informal wage sector is composed of those firms with fewer than six employees that pay wages or salaries but do not pay benefits". The "formal wage sector" is considered to be the salaried employees or shift workers in firms with more than 6 employees and/or collect benefits" See for example, Davila Enrique, "The Evolution and Reform of the Labor Market" in Labor Markets in Latin America: Combining Social Protection with Market Flexibility,Sebastina and Nora Lustig, ed, Brookings Institute, Washington D. C. ; also PEMPSA 1, Panorama de las empresas de mujeres pobres,gimtrap México, Baygan, Ibid. 15

16 The preceding are just some examples of the topics that are on the agenda for discussion and we could surely find many more. In the meantime, I would like to take advantage of this event to stress the importance of reaching certain agreements that will allow us to obtain adequate data and share similar concepts throughout Latin America in view of new economic circumstances and women's increasing participation in the nations of this region.. 16