Labor challenges faced by people with disabilities in Mexico

December 3 marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and for this reason we will explore the challenges faced by this sector of the population in Mexico's work environment.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is December 3, declared in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is intended to promoting the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities, and to raise awareness of the challenges that still exist to achieve their inclusion in social and work environments.

Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO), it was estimated that by the year 2023 there will be approximately 1.3 billion people with a type of disability worldwide.. This figure represents an approximate 16% of the world population.

In this regard, WHO notes that the inequalities faced by people with disabilities derive from various unfair situations to which this population is often exposed.:

«Health inequalities stem from the unfair situations faced by people with disabilities, such as stigmatization, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and the barriers they encounter in the health system itself.».

Relevant figures on people with disabilities in Mexico

Based on data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) in the 2020 Population and Housing Census, Mexico had 6,179,890 people with disabilities, which represented a 4.9% of total population.

Inegi points out that the people with disabilities had difficulties in performing some specific activities of daily livingfor example:

• walking, climbing or descending (47.6%);
• see, even when wearing glasses (43.5%);
• hear, even when wearing a hearing aid (21.9%);
• bathing, dressing or eating (18.9%).

In addition, the states of Oaxaca (6.6%), Guerrero (6%) and Tabasco (6%) showed the highest percentage concentration of inhabitants living with a disability.

On the other hand, the United Nations (UN) has pointed out that the people with disabilities face an increased likelihood of experiencing violence:

«Children with disabilities are 4 times more likely to be victims of violent acts, adults with some type of disability are 1.5 times more likely to experience violence.».

In Mexico, people who belong to this sector of the population are more likely to be exposed to discrimination. According to the National Survey on Discrimination (Enadis) of 2022, from the total number of people who experienced an episode of discrimination, 33.8% was represented by people with a disability..

Challenges faced by people with disabilities in the Mexican workplace

According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census (Inegi), only 38% of people over 15 with a disability were economically active..

And not only that, in Mexico the challenge of the wage gap prevails. The same Inegi indicated that in 2022 the monthly salary of a person without disability was $8,373 pesos, while that of a person with disability was $5,531 pesos.. Although the minimum wage in Mexico in 2025 is $8,364 pesos per month, there is still no updated data on how much the gap between people with and without a disability has narrowed or widened.

On the other hand, according to the 2022 Enadis, 44.9% of the surveyed persons with a disability stated that they experienced an episode of discrimination when looking for a job..

In addition, based on Inegi's 2024 economic census, in Mexico there are 5,468,180 economic units in the private sector and in parastatal enterprises, of which only 102,285 hired persons with a disability. This represents only the 1.8% of total number of economic units, The inclusion of this sector of the population in the labor market is still a long way off.

In what ways do you think you can contribute to making a more inclusive work environment for people with disabilities?

With information from Government of MexicoInegi (1, 2, 3 y 4), UN (1 y 2) y WHO

Research and editing by José Manuel Ríos and Rodrigo Hernández