Mexico is experiencing significant demographic, social, and economic changes, and the distinct roles of women and men in the Mexican economy are changing as well. In both urban and rural areas, large numbers of young Mexican women are entering the labor force, and as girls' education reaches parity with boys, this trend will intensify. However, women continue to face special constraints on their economic activities which are largely related to their household roles and responsibilities. Macroeconomic change affects Mexican men, who must deal with shifting labor market opportunities and...

'The Other Half of Gender' brings the gender and development debate full circle--from a much-needed focus on empowering women to a more comprehensive gender framework that considers gender as a system that affects both women and men. It draws on a slowly emerging realization that attaining the vision of gender equality will be difficult, if not impossible, without changing the ways in which masculinities are defined and acted upon.