NAFTA and Gender Identity in Mexican Women

As Reyna Elizabeth Montere states in Work and Health, Women at Risk – Revealing the Hidden Health Burden of Women Workers, “Mexican women are making a significant contribution to the national economy, but their quality of life has not enjoyed a corresponding improvement.”i The North American Free Trade Agreements Export-Processing Zones (EPZs) are filled with false promises and benefits. Although providing work for Mexico’s numerous unemployed, the accord harms female workers on social, mental and physical grounds. That these factories are heralded as a forward movement for females is intensely ironic in its undermining of these factors. The provisions of NAFTA leave this to the Mexican government’s responsibility, as American and Canadian employers are legally unresponsible for the harms incurred. Moreover, were they to want to take action, it is often impossible under the terms of the agreement.
The accord heavily undermines traditional cultural gender roles wit...