Outcome MEX_D_2.2

By 2025, the Mexican State has decent work programs to address labor market needs, including institutional strengthening, job training, formalization, women's economic participation, protection of rights, social mobility and labor justice.

Within the area of economic empowerment, the Second Chance Education Program , implemented in the states of Jalisco, State of Mexico and Puebla has achieved great results. At the moment 4,369 participants women are supported to complement their studies and count with entrepreneurship skills. 2,245 women graduated the program by completing the Program. This represents a total of 3,098 women graduated from SCE Program since July 2019. In 2021, 3,007 marginalized women have enrolled in the Program and have access to more education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, through 15 SCE learning centers. The women have access to 67 courses. This represents a total of 5,033 women enrolled since the beginning of the Program, thus, achieving its target of 5,000 enrolled women and exceeding its goals on the number of centers (12) and the number of courses (5). SCE count with 18 courses in the online platform. Likewise, the program promotes the creation of support and mentoring networks between the same participants generating so far 55 networks and 386 women have developed their leadership skills further by participating in the Program as mentors for new participants and support other women within of the same program. These results have also been thanks to the alliances that have been achieved through this program working with state governments through 15 learning centers . Also, it has had the support of three Non-Governmental Organizations, four private sector companies; promoting that together have carried out 140 activities with the communities. 1,317 SCE participants have access to broader range of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, through the partnerships with the state governments of Jalisco (Ministry of Substantive Equality between Women and Men), State of Mexico (Ministry of Women, and Puebla (Ministry of Labor); the municipal governments of Zapopan, Lerma and Huixquilucan; and private sector partners, HP, Intel and Megacable. Approximately 40 people from RPs and UN Women teams from the 6 countries where SCE is implemented acquired new resources and knowledge to continue consolidating the program by participating on the two mini-conference on new masculinities and gender divide . 33 RPs' staff and 37 state and municipal government officials developed a new understanding of gender equality and care through the capacity training of the Simone de Beauvoir Leadership Institute. Around 22 representatives of UN Women, RPs, private sector and municipal and state government participated in a design thinking workshop to provide insights on the design of the SCE partners' portal, which aims to strengthen the collaboration, communication and accountability among them. Also, in a workshop of SCE and Moving Forward Equality, 40 people from private sector partners, RPs and participants, and the Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean and the Country Representative, exchange experiences on women's economic empowerment. The government of the state of Jalisco, through its Gender Equality ministry, continued to collaborate with UN Women by establishing a Learning Center within its Meeting and Attention Center, benefiting 261 women and by providing access to the contents from the SCE platforms as part of its women's empowerment program, Fuerza Mujeres, benefiting over 2,936 women. The government of the state of Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which led to the official launch of one Learning Center, which has benefited 39 women in its two-month running. The municipal governments of Tehuacan and Zinacatepec continue providing spaces to set up learning spaces. The municipal governments of Huixquilucan and Lerma have also provided spaces, as well as in this year, 2 events were carried out to showcase the results of the Program. The municipal government of Zapopan continues its collaboration with spaces and personnel, through three Municipal Academies, and it is exploring the expansion of the Program to new spaces. The communication campaign of the program was launched and evaluated during 2021. The partnership with private sector is strengthened continuously. By 2021, 136 companies are among the WEP Signatories on the WEP website (www.weps.org/companies). The CO has strengthened its collaboration with business chambers and associations such as the Global Compact, Abogadas MX, the Mexican Association of the Information Technology Industry, and the Business Coordinating Council through webinars for the private sector.

By 2025, the Mexican State has decent work programs to address labor market needs, including institutional strengthening, job training, formalization, women's economic participation, protection of rights, social mobility and labor justice.

Advance on the outcome during 2025 was made by UN Women Mexico by strengthening women’s economic autonomy and supporting Mexico’s decent work agenda through innovative private-sector partnerships and gender-responsive employment solutions. In collaboration with the Visa Foundation, UN Women launched Care Accelerator Mexico 2025–2026 , supporting women-led care enterprises to develop sustainable and scalable care solutions. As part of the programme’s pre-acceleration phase, UN Women and Tecnológico de Monterrey strengthened the capacities of 40 women entrepreneurs through training on key topics including Product-Market Fit and Market Validation, Public Relations and Strategic Communication, the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), Revenue Models, Wellbeing for Women Entrepreneurs, Authorized Donor Status, and Community Building. As a result, 10 women-led care enterprises were selected from 54 applications to advance to the acceleration phase, which will begin in January 2026, supporting the professionalization and sustainability of women-led initiatives in the care sector. Since 2023, UN Women Mexico has coordinated a multistakeholder alliance to design and operationalize an innovative Outcome Based Approach (OBA) mechanism to improve formal employment opportunities for women in vulnerable situations in Nuevo León. These include women without completed education, those unemployed, and those working in informal jobs facing barriers to decent work. Through partnerships with Fundación Monte de Piedad, the Government of Nuevo León, and Fomento Social Banamex, UN Women aligned public, private, and philanthropic actors around a shared results framework. Unlike traditional projects, the OBA links payments to independently verified results, incentivizing organizations to deliver measurable employment and empowerment outcomes. A key achievement is the institutionalization of Mexico’s first gender-responsive OBA mechanism, set to support 482 women with tailored services such as skills development, financial and health education, job intermediation, and post-placement support. UN Women’s technical leadership defined indicators, embedded gender equality requirements, and enabled a collaboration agreement with the state government in 2025, mobilizing MXN 2.5 million for implementation. The OBA will launch in 2026, with UN Women accompanying implementation by strengthening gender equality capacities of organizations and employers and verifying empowerment outcomes. This experience shows how diverse alliances can embed gender equality in labor policies and expand pathways to sustainable economic empowerment for women in vulnerable contexts. Building on the progress achieved in prior years, throughout 2025 UN Women Mexico continued to strengthen private sector commitment and capacity to promote gender equality by advancing the promotion and operationalization of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) . UN Women facilitated enhanced private sector capacities to apply the WEPs framework and the Gender Gap Analysis Tool to identify internal gender gaps and define priority actions for more inclusive workplaces. By 2025, Mexico increased its WEPs signatory companies to 337, contributing to global growth of the WEPs community to 12,033 companies. UN Women supported companies in formalizing participation in the framework and strengthened capacity for gender equality at individual and institutional levels, with over 1,000 employees engaging in gender equality learning. In addition, UN Women increased awareness on violence against women among staff in four companies and supported one company to integrate a gender-responsive care approach into human resources practices, contributing to more inclusive and equitable workplaces. By the end of 2025, 27 companies participating in the Target Gender Equality programme demonstrated improved ability to analyze and interpret gender data to inform decision-making, while Provident, a strategic private sector partner, developed the institutional capacity to independently apply the Tool to produce gender-responsive diagnostics. Also, UN Women contributed to greater knowledge among Tecnológico de Monterrey’s entrepreneurs regarding gender equality principles and their integration into business and entrepreneurship models. UN Women’s collaboration with private sector and philanthropic actors has been pivotal in advancing women’s economic empowerment. By mobilizing innovative financing and diversifying expertise, these partnerships created new pathways for women to access formal employment and strengthen their economic autonomy. UN Women’s leadership ensured that accountability and gender-responsive approaches were embedded throughout, while inclusive partnerships introduced sustainable solutions and demonstrated how collective action can drive systemic change to benefit women in vulnerable situations.

By 2025, the Mexican State has decent work programs to address labor market needs, including institutional strengthening, job training, formalization, women's economic participation, protection of rights, social mobility and labor justice.

Relevant progress was achieved in this outcome in 2024. Mexico kept a strong focus on leaving no woman behind, as part of its alignment to the SDG 5 on Gender Equality and put at the centre the application of the LNOB principle in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. Empowering Women: Jalisco's Initiative for Education and Economic Opportunities Since 2020, the Government of Jalisco, through the Ministry of Substantive Equality between Women and Men of the State of Jalisco (SISEMH) empowered more than 1,100 women to re-enter formal education, access vocational training, learn entrepreneurial skills, and connect to employment and business opportunities. This initiative ensures that marginalized women, including those who have faced violence or lack educational opportunities, are not left behind. 24 volunteers and 10 graduates of SCE enhanced their leadership and personal skills through mentorship training. 156 women participants gaining employment or starting businesses, securing better livelihoods through employment or entrepreneurship since the program's inception. Through SCE completion, a 22% increase was reached in participants engaging in income-generating activities six months after completing the program, a 43% reduction in participants without income-generating activities, and a 37% increase in participants adopting saving habits. Women also gained greater recognition of their decision-making abilities to positively influence their lives and an increased motivation to continue learning and enhance their personal and professional growth. Institutionalization and Sustainability the Government of Jalisco, through SISEMH, integrated the Second Chance Education methodology into the Women's Gathering and Support Center (CREA). This integration promotes the sustainability of SCE in Jalisco and opens the possibility of extending it to other states in the country. At CREA, 130 women enrolled, and 104 graduated, enhancing their opportunities to enter the job market, start businesses, and improve their digital and socio-emotional skills. This integration of a UN Women-designed manual into CREA's operational guide exemplifies the institutionalization of SCE, making it a lasting resource for women's empowerment. The mentorship model was also adapted to the specific operational needs and interests of participants in the Women's Gathering and Support Center (CREA), ensuring its sustainability in future implementations. The mentor and graduate networks in Jalisco were consolidated into a single, active network of 53 participants during 2024. This unified network will continue to receive support from ProSociedad, the responsible partner, fostering collaboration and the exchange of job and entrepreneurship opportunities. Expanding Reach to Vulnerable Groups Two new Justice Centers for Women, which provide attention to women victims of violence, integrated the SCE methodology. Six facilitators were trained to deliver the program to a cohort of 56 women, ensuring that even the most vulnerable women have access to education and empowerment opportunities. Additionally, 40 public servants working in women-focused programs enhanced their understanding of SCE through a 20-hour workshop led by UN Women and its partner, ProSociedad. Best practices Additionally, best practices for gender-inclusive digital literacy were consolidated in 2024 with the launch of a global foundational digital skills course developed through the collaboration of UN Women Mexico, the UN Women SCE team in Geneva, and RP ProSociedad. And the understanding of core features consolidated by SCE Mexico during its pilot phase for future implementation and programming is available through the launch of Mexico Second Chance Education (SCE) Signatures Features New advancements The SCE sustainability strategy in Mexico has advanced with the Outcomes-Based Approach (OBA) mechanism. The commitment of funders—Government of Nuevo León, Fundación Nacional Monte de Piedad, Provident, and Fomento Social Citibanamex—to invest USD 1.3M remains ongoing. The technical design for outcome payers, including empowerment metrics, intervention criteria, and the payment model, is complete. This initiative targets 482 vulnerable women in Nuevo León, enabling them to join a formal employment program tailored to their needs. Upon launch, UN Women will serve as a technical advisor, integrating a gender perspective, building gender equality capacities, and validating metrics. With initial support from funders, UN Women aims to mobilize additional resources for a comprehensive contribution. UN Women plans to lead the learning agenda, strengthen implementing organizations, generate evidence, and share lessons to scale effective women’s economic empowerment initiatives. Commitment with women’s empowerment and continuity of promotion of SCE model within public and private entities in Jalisco is consolidated through the formal establishment of the “Network of Allies for Women's Economic Autonomy in Jalisco (RAAEM)” at the end of 2024. Additionally, 29 tourism-sector companies in three Jalisco’s Pueblos Mágicos (towns recognized by Mexico´s Ministry of Tourism for their cultural, historical, and natural richness) are aware and trained to improve women’s employment opportunities within touristic sector. This year, 55 new companies in Mexico were approved as Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) signatories on the WEPs website . As of December 2024, 295 companies are included in the global list. To support WEPs signatories, the UN Women Country Office provided guidance and relevant resources. The Mexico WEPs Forum convened over 150 participants to drive gender equality and women’s empowerment in the private sector through the WEPs. Organized by UN Women, CAMEXA, and the German Centre, the forum addressed key issues like workplace gender-based violence, caregiving responsibilities, and inclusive advertising. The event delivered actionable results, including the launch of the report “Progress and Goals of the Private Sector in Gender Equality in Mexico” and the implementation of inclusive practices, such as a nursing room and childcare area, establishing a model for future events. Backed by private sector sponsors, the forum reinforced the business case for gender equality through a high-level dialogue under the theme “Gender Equality is Good Business.” The study “Progress and Goals of the Private Sector in Gender Equality in Mexico,” by UN Women and UN Global Compact, identifies dimensions of gender equality in the private sector using official statistics, thematic literature, data from Global Compact Progress Reports, and results from the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool. It also examines how companies implement gender equality commitments and the challenges they face, providing a solid foundation for future action.

By 2025, the Mexican State has decent work programs to address labor market needs, including institutional strengthening, job training, formalization, women's economic participation, protection of rights, social mobility and labor justice.

Significant progress was made towards this outcome in 2023. Women in Mexico have more access to life skills training and education for economic autonomy with the Second Chance Education (SCE) program . 897 Mexican women graduated during 2023, adding to the more than 5,000 women graduated throughout SCE’s history. In 2023 around half of graduated women who had just completed the SCE Program reported to have improved their livelihoods and opportunities, and more than 80% reported to have improved their conditions 6 months after graduating. During 2023, final year of implementation of SCE, UN Women Mexico developed and consolidated a transfer methodology as means to ensure the sustainability of the Program. This transfer methodology is aimed for government, private sector and civil society partners interested in implementing or strengthening economic empowerment training programs. Four partners have begun the process to acquire the knowledge and skills to replicate and implement SCE through this methodology: Ministry of Substantive Equality between Women and Men (SISEMH), private company CEMEX and civil society organizations Xamixtli and ProMéxico. Municipal Government of Huixquilucan completed the process in October . SCE responsible partners (RPs) consolidated several alliances to boost women’s skills and opportunities both in employment and entrepreneurship. 355 entrepreneur graduates positioned their products and services through 28 bazaars, markets, and other sales outlets. 16 private, public, and international organizations strengthened their gender perspective by exchanging ideas on their strategies for labor inclusion of women through 4 Conferences for the inclusion of women in the labor market of Jalisco in coordination with the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology of Jalisco (SICyT) and within the ecosystem of innovation and corporate social responsibility in Jalisco. In Puebla and Estado de México over 110 women strengthened their knowledge of employment opportunities through the collaboration with National Employment Service and the local labor government agencies. 24 participants obtained EC0784 competency federal standard certifications, 161 participants completed high school educational level through educational alliances and 30 women received a training in productive activities held by the State government (15 got an economical incentive linked to their productive project), and 121 women are already listed in the job board through the support of the Labor department of the state government. M&E strengthening has provided the mechanisms to track results more effectively (not activities) and clarity to identify the basic tools and structure needed to offer a methodology that adapts to the local contexts and guarantees the monitoring of basic results for SCE indicators and identity. Through knowledge management linked to M&E actions and with the close work with RP’s, the standardization of the basic curricular offer was achieved during this year. Also, EdApp content that strengthens all courses was developed and launched by both RP’s. These two achievements and experience show SCE as a finished product and have contributed to raise interest among stakeholder needed for a possible scaling-up, also it has contributed to boost the contribution of Mexico to the development of global foundational courses. A feasibility study conducted in 2021 by Social Finance found that an Outco me Based Approach (OBA) is a suitable financing me chanism to pursue for SCE. With the financial support of BHP Foundation and technical advice from Social Finance, a project to develop OBA me chanisms for two pilots. UN Women Mexico is leading the co-design process of an Outcome-Based Approach (OBA) with the technical advice of Social Finance UK (global level) and Henderson & Alberro (locally), aimed to improve the employment outcomes of women in disadvantaged situations, contribute to their economic empowerment and improve gender equality in the state of Nuevo León. These innovative mechanisms tie funding to outcomes, rather than activities or inputs. Applying an OBA to Second Chace Education will broaden and sustain in-country stakeholder engagement with women’s empowerment and drive an increased focus on and accountability for the outcomes women achieve through the program. Three potential outcomes funders (OF) – Government of Nuevo León, Fundación Nacional Monte de Piedad, and Fomento Social Citibanamex – expressed their interest to invest more than a million dollars to the initiative. Five Co-design workshops took place during 2023, and a consensus was reached on a general design of the OBA. There is also an agreed work path for the structuring and contracting phase, with the expectation for the OBA to be launched during 2024. Likewise, the area of Economic Empowerment houses UN Women work with the private sector in favor of gender equality. Private sector in Mexico has embraced gender equality and women’s empowerment as key objectives, acknowledging their positive contributions to business and broader society. UN Women has positioned itself as a key reference organization in providing tools for promoting gender equality in the private sector by actively participating in various forums, sharing related information, and promoting the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) . Through strengthened collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and business associations, UN Women has established an effective model for engaging groups of companies, introducing them to the WEPs, and guiding them through the WEPs journey and tools. In 2023, 48 companies in Mexico signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles , bringing the total number of WEPs signatories in the country to 241. UN Women participated in 13 public events to promoting gender equality within the private sector. Noteworthy among these were the Ring the Bell for Gender Equality events at the Mexican Stock Exchange and the Institutional Stock Exchange, as well as a WEPs adhesions event co-organized with UNGC, where 20 companies pledged their commitment to the WEPs. Based on the challenges faced globally, as important lesson is that a more diversified resource mobilization strategy is required, that prioritizes the identification of more opportunities with international donors, foundations, and private sector to consolidate and scale up programming in Mexico, and the search of innovative funding mechanism.

By 2025, the Mexican State has decent work programs to address labor market needs, including institutional strengthening, job training, formalization, women's economic participation, protection of rights, social mobility and labor justice.

This outcome has reached significant progress in 2022. 2,763 marginalized women have improved skills and access to more education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, enrolled in the Second Chance Education (SCE) Program through 15 SCE learning centers. The women have access to 69 courses to strengthen their knowledge and skills to continue their formal studies, acquire a job or start their own business. Since the beginning of the Program, a total of 7,787 women enrolled. Moreover, 243 women increased their financial inclusion, resilience and health, through the financial inclusion course in collaboration with UNDP. After course, it can be observed an increase between 28% and 12% of women saving money; an increase between 31% to 5% on women having financial goals; an increase between 44% to 22% of women keeping record of their incomes and expenses; and a reduction between 32% and 21% of women not knowing what to do, if they lose their income resource. During this year 502 women were employed; 1,064 have started a business; and 627 returned to formal education. Moreover, 893 graduates developed their leadership skills by offering support to other participants through mentorships. 351 graduates received training to become mentors, and 542 of them offered advice and courses organically. From a sample of SCE participants, 41% of women with an employment or entrepreneurship said they got it due to their participation in SCE program. Within 3 months after graduating the Program 74% of participants took entrepreneurship courses and 67% from them reported to start their business once they finish their training and all of them would recommend this training to other women. Moreover, half of the participants who took employment courses got a job after finishing their SCE training. The private sector incorporates gender equality and women's empowerment as key objectives, understanding that it benefits their business and society . Private sector companies not only use tools such as the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to implement actions for gender equality, but they also measure, report them, make public commitments, and invite other companies to drive change in their industry. 191 companies are among the WEPs Signatories on the WEPs website . Three public events of WEPs adhesions were held. The first one was organized by Abogadas MX , where 37 law firms signed the WEPs; the second one was with the National Association of Banks (ABM), which was made during the 85 Banking Convention and where this association announced its commitment to the WEPs and their incorporation to the Global Alliance for Care; the third one was organized by the Global Compact where 18 signatory companies reaffirmed their commitment to gender equality. UN Women strengthened its collaboration with the Global Compact in WEPs implementation and for their Target Gender Equality initiative. Gender equality is considered as a critical objective to investing decisions . UN Women collaborated with the working group formed by the Ministry of Finance, with support from International Finance Corporation (IFC), to develop an index to evaluate gender equality in investment projects and thus determine their impact. UN Women has provided valuable inputs for the index proposal, based on WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool and the Bonds to Bridge the Gender Gap: A Practitioner’s Guide to Using Sustainable Debt for Gender Equality publication. A first draft of the index is almost ready, and the work will continue next year. (all the working sessions are closed and not recorded). UN Women Mexico and India were selected to design an outcome-based approach for the Second Chance Programme. The initiative is being developed in collaboration with Social Finance and the Second Chance Global Team. Two potential scenarios for an Outcomes Based Approach (OBA) have been identified and we are currently discussing aspects such as target population, key outcomes, and potential partners