Opportunities for India-Mexico cooperation on gender mainstreaming

In July 2024 Mexico City hosted the Third Feminist Foreign Policy Summit, the first of its kind to be organised with an intergovernmental approach alongside UN agencies in a Global South country. This comes in the wake of the momentous decision in 2020 when Mexico became the first Latin American country to adopt a Feminist Foreign Policy, aiming to put gender equality, human rights, and social justice at the core of its diplomatic efforts, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to international relations. The summit and Mexico’s approach heralds a shift in gender mainstreaming in foreign policy and underscores the need for diversity in thinking in this subject. With a concerted push for greater gender inclusion in policymaking and a focus on ‘women-led development’, India and Mexico have much to offer in widening the opportunities and possibilities of such approaches.

Mexico’s 2020 decision is rooted in the principles of the Mexican Humanism espoused by the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which seeks to bring equality and social justice to all realms of public life. By adopting a Feminist Foreign Policy, Mexico is essentially implementing measures to break crystal ceilings and achieve substantive equality in the conduction of its foreign policy, offering the same opportunities for men and women, while acknowledging the centrality of these goals in world affairs. In the words of Mexican foreign minister Alicia Bárcena “gender equality is not an objective in itself, but a necessary condition to achieve sustainable development and the well-being of all people”.

This is far from discursive good intentions. In a short period of four and a half years, the implementation of the Feminist Foreign Policy in Mexico has already seen huge success with long-lasting and concrete effects on its foreign policy priorities. Today, the gender perspective has been effectively brought to the forefront of the country’s international agenda, across bilateral, regional and multilateral realms. Within the foreign ministry, affirmative actions have been carried out to redress the gender disparity in career ranks and empower female voices in the Mexican foreign service.

The quest towards gender equality in foreign affairs mirrors important achievements in the domestic front. For instance, Mexico has seen a significant increase in female political representation with the implementation of constitutional reforms mandating gender parity in candidacies for national and local positions. As a result, women now hold 50% of seats in both chambers of the legislative branch, positioning Mexico as one of the leading countries in parliamentary female representation. In the executive branch, currently eight of the 19 ministries are led by women, including key offices, like interior, external affairs, security, economy, natural resources, culture and education. Moreover, Mexico will proudly inaugurate on October 1 its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, marking a watershed moment in its political history. Among her first decisions was to appoint the first ever minister for women, which brings Mexico to the group of countries, including India, that have a ministry dedicated to the promotion of women and gender issues.

While India has not formally adopted a feminist foreign policy, there is a clear and growing commitment to embedding gender perspective across various policies and initiatives. The focus on inclusion is both at the foreign policy level--from a steady increase in representation in the ministry of external affairs, to policies that bring a strong gender lens and keep human security at the core of implementation. From all-women peacekeeping forces to placing gender firmly in the 2020-23 National Trade Facilitation Action Plan and negotiating on the inclusion of gender related targets in our FTAs, India is taking key steps in applying principles of a feminist foreign policy to its contextual realities. During India’s 2023 G20 presidency, gender mainstreaming in foreign policy discussions was given a significant attention, highlighting India’s evolving role in promoting gender equity at the global level.

Such principles and efforts are also evident in domestic policies and programmes such as the Women’s Reservation Bill of 2023, which aims to reserve one-third of parliamentary seats for women, beginning in 2029. An important step to increase representation in the parliament where the percentage of women Members of Parliament stands today at 13.6%. Another specific example in India is digital financial inclusion for women and other vulnerable groups, where India has made considerable progress. This is evident in initiatives like the Jan Dhan Plus programme, which has successfully promoted financial inclusion among women, reaching over 12 million as of April 2023.

Historically India-Mexico ties have thrived in different realms, including trade and economic engagement, cultural diplomacy and cooperation in multilateral forums. Mexico was the first Latin American country to establish ties with independent India in 1950. From there we have come a long way, where India is now Mexico’s tenth largest trading partner as of 2022. Today our countries can certainly strengthen this partnership by integrating gender perspectives into such a rich and dynamic bilateral relation.

Despite distinct cultural, political, and socio-economic landscapes, the two countries share a commitment to include gender perspectives in public policies aiming for a more inclusive and sustainable development. India’s women-led development marks a notable shift in thinking, reiterating that women should be stakeholders in societal growth and development and not merely recipients; a thinking and principle that is evident in Mexico’s approach and implementation.

Both countries recognise that integrating gender into policy is not just a moral imperative but also a strategic one. This has led to the development of gender-sensitive policies that are more inclusive and equitable and that foster South-South cooperation. By leveraging their respective strengths, India and Mexico can be at the forefront of the efforts in advancing women’s empowerment in the Global South and share experiences and best practices for others.

This article is authored by Adolfo García Estrada, Consul General of Mexico, Mumbai and Ambika Vishwanath, founder director, Kubernein Initiative.