Essay On Mexican Migrant Women

The reason for Mexican migration is economic opportunities, people trying to work hard and create a better life for their families. Employment creates empowerment, especially for women who would normally be financially dependent on their husbands. The United States has greater opportunities for employment especially for women. They are able to contribute financially to the family, which gives them more control over making decisions for the family. Migrant women are twice as likely to find jobs in the United States as they would have in Mexico. But just because they have jobs doesn’t mean they are a good fit, most Mexican migrant women are underemployed, which means they are overqualified for the job that they are doing. Mexican women immigrating are, on average, the youngest compared to all other immigrant groups and 75% of them hadn’t completed High School. (The Urban Institute) This underemployment is very similar to their male counterparts, whom are mostly either partially employed, unemployed, or underemployed. The lack of professional success makes it nearly impossible for a family to survive on one income alone: “in many immigrant families, women’s economic contribution is matter of putting food on the table”. Migrant families now need dual incomes to be able to survive “...thus, women’s work is not simply secondary but equal to that of men.” (Zhao, 90) Women now play an integral in supporting their family.

The majority of women say, “the poor thing comes home so tired, I am not going to make him (do chores).”…Because a man’s work is a lot harder here (in the US), And even though she works as well, usually a woman’s work is considered less difficult. And besides working, she has to come home and keep cooking or working. I think that they are both equally difficult. But the majority of women think like this.” (Parrado,