Women in Mexico's Executive Branch: Discrimination, Family Connections, and Formal Career Paths

What explains women's exclusion from and entry into high-level executive positions? This article analyzes the recruitment of cabinet secretaries and assistant secretaries in Mexico. We examine two potential causal factors to explain women's exclusion from high-level executive positions: an inadequate supply of qualified women and a preference for men by those making the appointments. We also examine two potential causal factors to explain women's entry into the executive branch: reliance on family connections and formally structured career paths. We find no evidence to support the supply hypothesis, but we do find evidence of gender discrimination in executive appointments, especially in agencies that have never had a female leader. We also find that women are no more likely than men to rely on family connections to get high-level executive appointments and that women do better in careers structured by clear qualifications and formal procedures for advancement.