Mujeres rurales de Hidalgo, México: entre la informalidad laboral y la subsistencia en pandemia, 2022

Objective: To identify the strategies employed by rural women in Hidalgo, Mexico, who work in informality in municipal markets in Pachuca de Soto to sustain family life. Methodology: Ethnographic interviews were conducted with 21 women between 20 and 63 years of age, married or living in consensual unions, and with children of various ages, between February and April 2022. Data were organized and analyzed using feminist theories of economics and standpoint theory. The analytical components were: a) perceptions of working under informal conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic; b) personal and social impacts of the strategies used to confront the pandemic and sustain family life; and c) types of participation of household members in domestic and care work. Results: Lockdown measures during the pandemic intensified gender inequalities and exacerbated the participants’ time poverty. Conclusions: Domestic and care work for family subsistence functioned as a coping mechanism to mitigate poverty; however, their economic, material, and health conditions became more precarious, increasing their overall poverty.