The Decline of Female and Male Fertility in Mexico: Examining the Interplay of Gender Inequality, and Education

Elder Lara-Castañeda, Other
Gabriela Mejia-Pailles, General Secretary of The National Population Council, Mexico

Existing research on fertility in the global south, including Mexico, has primarily focused on women, where a strong gradient of higher fertility among women with lower educational attainment stills prevail. Despite the existence of significant gender gaps in labour market participation, domestic and care work, research analysing the fertility patterns of both sexes remains limited. A more comprehensive approach to fertility in Mexico is crucial given the country's rapid decline in total fertility rate, the concentration of births among women aged 20-29, persistent high teenage fertility rates, and informal labour conditions. Using data from vital statistics records from 1990 to 2023 and population censuses, this paper aims to analyse the decline in fertility among women and men and its gradient by educational attainment. To our knowledge this is the first work that analyses fertility of men in the country in a cross-sectional way using administrative registers. Our findings show that while gender-specific differences in fertility persist, particularly among disadvantaged population, we observe a narrowing of these disparities over time. Additionally, this finding highlights the gender inequalities, particularly among women with low levels of education and teenagers.

Keywords: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Data and Methods, Gender Dynamics, Fertility

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