Yucatán stood out as the state that made the most progress in improving the working conditions faced by women in each federal entity, climbing four positions to fourth place nationally. Campeche, on the other hand, experienced the greatest decline, dropping eight places to 14th, and Quintana Roo fell three positions to 15th, according to the “States #UnderTheGenderGlass 2026” study by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO).
With this study, IMCO measured the working conditions women face at the state level in different stages of their professional careers, using three areas called Pillars: Women’s Entry into the Labor Market; Women’s Retention in the Labor Market; and Economic Autonomy.
Yucatán stands out for its progress in reducing gender inequality in unpaid work and for increasing the proportion of women with a high school diploma, two key indicators for women’s entry into the labor market.
It ranks first in safety for women on public transportation and is among the states with the lowest homicide rate.
However, one of its main challenges is related to job security, as it has a high rate of informal employment among women (62.7 percent), and it also faces challenges in economic autonomy, particularly in formal entrepreneurship.
In contrast, Campeche dropped eight positions compared to 2025, mainly due to a decline in the labor market entry pillar, where it lags behind in indicators such as inequality in unpaid work, homicides of women, and the gender pay gap.
Despite this, Campeche maintains strengths in economic autonomy. The state ranks first nationally in homeownership among women and advanced four positions in formal entrepreneurship.
Quintana Roo has its best ranking in the Labor Market Entry pillar, placing sixth; it ranks 13th in Economic Autonomy and 21st in Job Security. Thus, it maintains its 15th place overall ranking.
Women’s Entry into the Labor Market measures the barriers women face in terms of preparation, available time, job opportunities, and gender-based violence when entering the paid economy.
Women’s Retention in the Labor Market analyzes the quality of employment women face, the care infrastructure, and sexual offenses—key conditions that determine women’s retention in the workplace.
Economic Autonomy measures factors such as working poverty, homeownership, and income dependency, which allow us to assess women’s capacity to access and generate their own income and productive resources.
The top-ranked states are Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Yucatán, and Colima; while Chiapas, Veracruz, and Oaxaca are at the bottom.
No state achieves a very high performance, which confirms the persistent challenges in guaranteeing equal career paths in the country, concludes IMCO.
Source: lajornadamaya
