The year of the woman

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In Mexico, successive administrations have promised – and failed – to tackle the rising violent-death toll. But the problem could be tackled with a softly, softly approach in future, with the election of left-wing veteran and populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador to lead the country. 

López Obrador (usually referred to as ‘Amlo’) was elected on a platform of zero tolerance towards Mexico’s powerful drug gangs and the country’s endemic corruption, while standing for reconciliation, and for ‘peace and love’.

Backing Amlo’s initiatives will be a large new cohort of female politicians, elected after moves to improve gender representation. In what has become known as ‘The Year of the Woman’, females will make up around half of both houses of the new Mexican congress.

Challenge to tradition

President-elect López Obrador is no macho strongman; some of his closest associates are women, notably Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s newly elected mayor, and campaign manager Tatiana Clouthier, who is generally considered to have masterminded his election victory. 

‘The Year of the Woman’ may, in future, become known as ‘The Year of Change’ in Mexico. Traditional masculinity is being challenged, with men viewed as the source and beneficiaries of ingrained corruption, ineffective politics and, of course, drug-related violence. Mexican women are shaking off long-held beliefs, while individuality is an emerging theme, particularly for the under-40s.

The increasing desire of Mexicanas to stand up for their rights is highlighted by recent research on inclusion and gender equality, conducted by Latin American market data firm Retargetly. It identified hundreds of thousands of regional searches for terms such as ‘women march’, ‘feminista’, ‘feminismo’, ‘Me too’, ‘derechos mujer’ (women’s rights), ‘aborto legal seguro gratuito’ (free and secure legal abortion) and ‘sororidad’ (sisterhood), with Mexico accounting for almost half of all such searches in Latin America. But what does this mean for marketing to Mexican women in 2018?

Bold and energetic

Marketers across all sectors need to change their approach as women rethink familiar habits and positively embrace new products and brands. As researchers, we have noted that a significant number of Mexican women under the age of 30 are willing to experiment with new trends, experiences and ideas, increasingly identifying with a bold and energetic blend of femininity. This has real implications for targeting, and opens up opportunities for innovation in a traditionally more cautious market. 

This independently minded generation is claiming the right to enter traditionally masculine categories. In the automotive segment, for example, the number of women buying SUVs has spiked significantly, with Jaguar Land Rover Mexico reporting that almost one-third of purchases are made by women. 

Brands are taking an empowering tone, too. For example, Mexican dairy brand La Villita’s #YoNoTrabajo (#IDon’tWork) campaign validates the efforts of women who chose not to work professionally to take care of their families. 

A more in-your-face attack on gender roles has come from cleaning product maker Alen’s #HazTuParte (#DoYourBit) campaign, featuring versions of its Pinol, Cloralex and Ensueño brands ‘for men’, with messaging highlighting that housework isn’t the sole domain of women. Even male-orientated Tecate, the most popular beer brand in the country, has joined the fray. The voiceover to a one-minute social video, featuring mostly stereotypical images of men, says “if you don’t respect a woman, Tecate is not for you”. 

Danone-owned water brand Bonafont’s recent #YoSoyAsí (#ThisIsHowIAm) campaign features women shaving, breastfeeding in public and playing ‘male’ sports. The #YoSoyAsí YouTube video had racked up more than 6.3m views by mid-2018.

Traditionally feminine categories are also supporting Mexicanas’ cutting of their mothers’ apron strings. Consumers respond warmly to the culinary aids segment, for one, issuing calls for freedom, creativity and improvisation, with inspiration coming not from mamá but from YouTube tutorials. Knorr’s latest campaigns focus on women liberating themselves from the fear of not being as good a provider as their mother, and finding time to do other things apart from look after the family.

However, Western brands need to ensure they respect local sensibilities, cultural patterns and idiosyncrasies. What might be viewed as a mildly provocative message in the West can easily be interpreted as out of place – aggressive, even – in Mexico. 

Indeed, headline movements such as #MeToo tend to look futile there, while the domestic #NiUnaMenos (#NotOneMore) campaign – a protest against violence towards women and femicide – is a highly targeted fit; a 2017 study from national statistics institute INEGI shows that two-thirds of Mexican women have been subjected to gender-based aggression.

Soft reform

While the country has seen numerous #NiUnaMenos demonstrations, the kind of activism that is common in North America and Europe doesn’t yet exist in Mexico. Street protest is generally viewed as an action undertaken by the poor, as well as politically motivated. As researchers, we need to guide our clients in the West to reflect and encourage the new Mexicana with products and campaigns that can be brave, even edgy, in a local context, but which are in line with a desire for ‘peace and love’, as the new president puts it.

While a majority of Mexican women are seeking social progress and greater gender equilibrium, they are looking for soft reform, rather than a radical revolution, in a country already plagued by conflict – and brands will need to reflect this temperate tone. 

• Mexico has 20.9m economically active women, the highest total since the National Survey of Occupation and Employment began compiling statistics in 2005
• Women secured 49.2% of Mexico’s Senate in the 2018 election – a 50% rise
• 223,000 women entered the labour market in 2017, the biggest increase since 2011 (Source: INEGI)
• Women in Mexico got the vote in 1953

• 81% of female adults feel they live in an unsafe city/town, up from 69.4% in 2015 (Source: ENSU, the National Survey of Urban Public Safety) 

Sabine Stork is founding partner at Thinktank and Graciela Sylva is team leader at De la Riva Investigación Estratégica