Mexico’s Social Workers Face Low Wages Amid Gaps

Mexico’s social work sector faces low wages and limited institutional investment despite rising social demands and growing recognition of unpaid and volunteer labor in national and global measurement frameworks. The situation affects public agencies, civil society organizations, nonprofit institutions, and private-sector entities reliant on community-based services, while intersecting with broader gender income gaps and informality trends. For Mexico’s policy and labor market environment, the challenge lies in aligning social spending, workforce development, and care infrastructure with sustainable human capital and social cohesion objectives.

Social workers in Mexico earn among the lowest reported wages for trained professionals, even as demand for community-based services persists. Official data show average monthly incomes below MX$6,000 (US$350), raising questions about workforce sustainability and policy priorities. The situation unfolds as global and regional institutions call for greater recognition of unpaid and social contributions within labor and development frameworks.

Juan Antonio Nemi, Former Director, DIF Veracruz, says the occupation remains “very poorly paid,” adding that despite its relevance to daily life, “society does not compensate it accordingly.”

Low Pay and Limited Institutional Support

An estimated 42,000 people work as social workers in Mexico, according to Data México. Average reported monthly income stands at MX$2,510 (US$148) for men and MX$6,610 (US$389) for women. Those formally employed work about 34.9 hours per week, although some take on second jobs to supplement earnings.

The income levels contrast with the scale of Mexico’s social needs. The National Occupation and Employment Survey reports that in 2025, 42.8 million people over age 15 are classified as not economically active. Social workers typically assist vulnerable groups, including older adults, people with disabilities, and families facing violence, poverty, or displacement.

Work opportunities extend across public administration, occupational education, nongovernmental organizations, private companies, and independent practice, according to the Colegio Profesional de Córdoba. However, practitioners argue that institutional investment has not kept pace with responsibilities assigned to the profession.

Nemi argues that some public institutions, including local DIF offices, have shifted away from operational social assistance. He says certain agencies are perceived as political platforms rather than service providers. “There has been an abandonment of the real need to invest in training personnel,” he adds.

Volunteerism and Unpaid Work in Focus

The debate over compensation occurs amid broader efforts to measure unpaid and volunteer contributions. The 2026 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, produced by the International Labor Organization (ILO), estimates that 2.1 billion people worldwide engage in volunteer work each month. The report indicates that 34.5% of the global working-age population participates in unpaid activities within a four-week reference period, compared with 14.9% reported in 2022, reflecting methodological changes that better capture informal and direct support.

Globally, 25% of working-age individuals engage in direct volunteering, such as helping neighbors or supporting community initiatives, compared with 11.7% who volunteer through organizations. The report states that volunteer work remains largely absent from traditional labor statistics despite sustaining social systems and economic resilience.

Mexico illustrates how improved measurement reshapes understanding of civic participation. According to INEGI, 8.4 million people in Mexico engaged in volunteer work in 2023, equivalent to about 7% of the population aged 15 and older. Women account for 62% of participants. Civil society organizations represent 55% of engagement, while 45% occurs independently.

The Mexican Volunteer Alliance estimates that volunteer activity generates more than MX$40 billion (US$2.33 billion) annually. Mexico has developed longitudinal data through the National Survey on Solidarity and Voluntary Action, conducted since 2005 by the Center for Research and Studies on Civil Society. The survey measures 23 types of participation, standardizes hours into eight-hour workdays and integrates findings into INEGI’s Satellite Account of Nonprofit Institutions.

Beyond volunteerism, unpaid domestic and caregiving labor reached MX$8.4 trillion (US$490.3 billion) in 2023, equivalent to 26.3% of GDP, according to INEGI. Women generated more than 70% of that value. Analysts note that unpaid and informal activities often absorb labor that does not appear in formal employment statistics, complicating assessments of labor market conditions.

Gender Inequality and Occupational Segregation

The challenges facing social work intersect with broader gender disparities. According to the ILO’s 2025 global analysis, women collectively earn 52 cents for every dollar earned by men in total labor income. The ratio has improved from 47 cents in 2004 but remains uneven across regions.

In the Americas, the labor income gender ratio has reached 65 cents, while Africa and the Arab States report 35 cents and 14 cents, respectively. The ILO attributes disparities to differences in workforce participation, working hours, occupational segregation, and the unequal burden of unpaid care work.

In 2025, there were 1.4 billion employed women globally compared with 2.1 billion employed men. Among those employed, women earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by men annually. Women worked six hours and 25 minutes less per week in paid employment than men, a gap that has remained largely unchanged since 2005. When unpaid work is included, women’s total working hours exceed men’s.

Women remain overrepresented in lower-paid sectors such as education, health care, social work, and domestic service. They held 30% of managerial positions globally in 2023, up from 26.5% two decades earlier. In technology, fewer than 30% of entry-level and managerial roles are held by women, and less than one in five leadership positions are occupied by women, according to Ursula Quijano, Mexico Country Lead, Laboratoria.

Informality continues to shape labor outcomes. Globally, 59% of men and 56% of women work in informal employment, though in low- and lower-middle-income countries women’s informality rates exceed men’s by up to 4.7 percentage points. Informal employment often lacks social protection and income stability.

For social work in Mexico, these dynamics converge. The profession sits at the intersection of care, community development, and public policy, sectors historically undervalued in labor markets. Practitioners argue that without greater investment in training, institutional capacity, and career pathways, the profession will struggle to attract and retain qualified personnel.

International organizations emphasize that recognizing unpaid and care-related activities is not solely a matter of assigning economic value but of understanding how social systems function. As measurement frameworks improve and volunteerism gains visibility, policymakers face decisions about how to integrate these contributions into formal labor and development strategies.

In Mexico, where millions engage in unpaid civic and care work and tens of thousands serve as trained social workers, the question remains whether compensation structures and policy design will align with the scale of social demand.