topic of this presentation

As part of International Women’s Day, the president of the Mexican Association of Women Business Owners, María Adolfina Escobar López, presented the topic “Women and Economy” to the Madrugadores group, highlighting progress in women’s business development while also pointing out key challenges.

Among these challenges, she lamented the government’s indifference toward recognizing women’s importance in business development, particularly when dealing with economic and financial institutions that lack data on female participation in the sector.

“When I requested this information for Rosarito, they told me they didn’t have such statistics and recommended I go to the City Hall. But I told them I was interested in comparing all municipalities to measure and analyze the situation because these are indicators that the government needs to implement public policies. I believe this remains a government challenge as well,” she said.

Another indicator of gender disparity in business is the low number of women on the boards of directors of major publicly traded companies.

The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness conducted a study and found that large companies need women in their governing bodies because women’s voices can bring new labor policies that benefit female workers.

Secondly, they analyzed the most important companies listed on the stock exchange and found that only 7 percent of board chairs are women, and just 17 percent of board seats are held by women. That is the challenge for large companies, and as these numbers change, we believe the gender gap will start to close,” she explained.

The speaker recalled that the Mexican Association of Women Business Owners was founded 60 years ago, sparked by a woman’s frustration after being denied a loan to start her business.

“Blanca Rosa Álvarez had a sewing workshop, and one day she went to the bank to request a loan to expand her business because she had enough customers. However, the bank director denied her request, telling her it wasn’t viable because women tended to spend money on jewelry and unnecessary investments. Frustrated and outraged, Mrs. Álvarez decided to unite women and create this association 60 years ago,” she explained.

Today, the organization aims to concentrate efforts to achieve women’s business growth in Baja California and throughout Mexico.