By Alma Janeth Calte Mendoza

Self-Management Development Intern AC (AUGE)

Abstract: Women living in rural communities face various structural barriers to accessing our rights to work and education, especially those of us who perform caregiving duties. However, we possess many capabilities, skills, and dreams that deserve to be recognized and fostered, which is why it is urgent to create better conditions for us within our own communities.

My name is Alma Janeth Calte Mendoza, I am 28 years old, and I am originally from Independencia, a rural community in the municipality of Teocelo, Veracruz. I am the proud mother of Mateo, a four-year-old boy who inspires me every day. Besides being a mother, I am also currently a scholarship recipient at Desarrollo Autogestionario AC (AUGE), where I collaborate on community outreach. Thanks to this, I have recently begun my undergraduate studies in Rural Processes for Sustainable Living, specializing in Solidarity Economy.

My day begins at 5:30 in the morning. I start my chores accompanied by the crowing of roosters and the sounds of the first people heading to the farm. The first thing I do is heat up coffee and prepare breakfast for my family. After breakfast, I get my son ready and take him to kindergarten. I return home, prepare his lunch, and pack a bag with milk, clothes, and toys for the person who will be watching him while I work.

I drop off her suitcase and then run to the bus stop to wait for the bus that takes me from my community to work. Sometimes it takes a long time to arrive, but I always try to be on time. I start work at 7 or 8 in the morning, depending on how far away the school is that I'm working that day, since I facilitate workshops on social-emotional skills, pregnancy prevention, and substance abuse prevention with students in a distance learning program, which is a type of high school in rural areas.

Leaving the office, I stop by the market to buy some things. I pick up my son with his caregiver, and we go back to prepare lunch. After washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I take care of work or school tasks. Occasionally, I have Zoom meetings or in-person meetings with the community groups I participate in. In the evening, I help my son with his homework and attend to his needs, feed him dinner, and put him to bed. I take some time for myself, eat dinner, prepare breakfast for the next day, and go to bed so I can get up early. Although my day is tiring, I do it with great pleasure, since I can work, study, and be a mom all at the same time. My family and my husband help make this possible.

In rural areas, care work has almost always fallen on women. We face a double and often a triple burden: we work outside the home for very low pay, and when we return, we continue cleaning, cooking, and caring for our children, or for sick or elderly people.

I have the option of dividing my time between caregiving, school, and work, but many women don't have that opportunity. According to data collected by the Alliance for Youth with Decent Work, in 2024 in our country, there were 17.7 million women who couldn't look for employment because they were dedicated to unpaid care work.

Historically, women have faced numerous difficulties accessing employment and education on equal terms with men. This situation is more pronounced in rural areas, where many young women are prevented from attending school by their parents because they believe they will end up as housewives and "that's not what studying is for."

The precariousness of agricultural work has led young people to no longer see staying in the community as a viable option. Those who continue to tend the crops are now mostly older adults, because the price of coffee has been declining in recent years. In this sense, the main option we have after finishing high school is to migrate to Monterrey, Mexico City, or Guadalajara. Women generally find employment as domestic workers, and men in construction or fiber optic companies.

Before starting to work at Desarrollo Autogestionario AC, I also worked in Monterrey and Mexico City as a babysitter and house cleaner. My experience was positive because I arrived with trustworthy people, but I also met many young people who were abused by their employers and worked long hours. Although we were doing very well financially, emotionally it was a difficult time being away from family and in an unfamiliar city.

Therefore, I believe it is urgent to create better working conditions in our communities, more sources of employment, or to support young people with entrepreneurship, so that we can stay in our places of origin and those who migrate do so knowing their labor rights.

It is also important to promote public policies that recognize our work, redistribute and compensate caregiving tasks. Creating a National Care System, with safe and accessible childcare centers, would not only give us peace of mind, but would also allow us to grow, study, and dream, without having to choose between our professional and career development and caring for those we love most.

I find it difficult to plan for the long term, because the structural barriers we face in rural areas often make it impossible to achieve our dreams. However, every day I wake up ready to work hard and strive to give my son a better life. I dream of finishing university and becoming a role model in my community.

I wanted to share my story with you, so that you understand that we women, and especially young women from rural communities, have the same rights and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

The next time you see a woman cleaning an apartment, or selling her vegetables on a street corner in your city, remember that she is a woman with a story, who has dreams, and who is there because that is where her circumstances have led her.

I conclude by calling on the State, employers, and civil society to join forces to improve our living conditions. Yes, rural women sustain life and the land, but it is essential that our rights are promoted and respected.

I also call on other young women like myself not to give up, to raise our voices and demonstrate our potential. As Bety Cariño says, “We women sow dreams to reap hope”.