Graduate student Sarah Lynn Lopez discusses Jorge Bravo’s CLAS talk on the impact of the out-migration males on Mexican women.
A long history of predominantly male emigration from Mexico to the U.S. has resulted in lopsided gender ratios in Mexico. In an electoral democracy, a decrease in the male population might lead women to increase their political participation and representation. However, male-female gender ratios do not mirror political participation; women’s power in numbers does not equal political power. Migration scholars have largely focused on the social and political worlds of migrants in the United States, with scant attention dedicated to how migration impacts sending communities, women’s daily lives, and regional gender relations.
