The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently awarded $10 million in funding to the Partners of the Americas for promoting gender equity and reducing workplace discrimination and harassment in Mexico.
The funding comes as part of efforts to implement labor law reforms enacted in Mexico in 2019 and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) gender-related provisions that seek to prevent workplace discrimination and violence, which so far have been difficult to enact, a DOL press release said.
“Founded in 1964 under President Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress, Partners of the Americas has more than 57 years of experience implementing U.S government-funded development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, including more than 18 consecutive years implementing department-funded projects to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking,” the release said.
The project, administered by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, will work to increase the number of women in leadership positions in Mexico’s unions, promote gender equity through collective bargaining, address wage discrimination and protect women from harassment, the release said.
The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on July 1, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said on its website. It aims to grow the North American economy through mutually-beneficial policies.
