Social Norms and Women's Participation in Salaried Employment: The Case of the Tehuacan Region of Mexico

This article studies the mechanisms by which social norms regarding wives' participation in salaried employment are enforced in two towns of the Tehuacan region in Mexico, using information gathered from in-depth interviews with wives and husbands and a survey of married women. First, social norms influence individuals' preferences through the internalisation of moral arguments concerning right or wrong behaviour and through social sanctions applied by groups in the society. Second, moral arguments are used by spouses in intra-household bargaining about wives' paid work in order to validate particular positions. Third, local organisations such as schools may also put demands on individuals that reinforce social norms.