Women's Employment in Mexico in 1879: Legal and Social Barriers

In 1879, women in Mexico were effectively barred from formal, paid employment outside the home. Society was deeply patriarchal; prevailing norms confined women to domestic roles—childrearing, household management, and subsistence tasks. Those who did work (e.g., in textiles, domestic service, or informal markets) faced severe wage discrimination, earning a fraction of male counterparts, and lacked legal protections.

The 1870s fell under the Porfiriato (Porfirio Díaz's long presidency), a period of modernization that nonetheless reinforced gender hierarchies. Labor laws did not recognize women as equal workers. It was not until the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) and subsequent constitutional reforms (1917) that women's labor rights began to be addressed, though progress remained slow.