Mexican Women’s Day Date in the current year: February 15, 2026

For a long time, the role of women in Mexican society was largely shaped by Roman Catholicism and the fact that Mexico was an overwhelmingly rural country. Although women participated in the Mexican War of Independence, which gave them more opportunities, most Mexican women still had limited opportunities for education and employment post-independence.

The first wave of the suffrage movement in Mexico coincided with the Mexican Revolution, during which women began demanding equality in order to help build a new Mexican society alongside men. Prominent Mexican feminists of that period included Rita Cetina Gutiérrez and Sofía Villa de Buentello. Yucatán became the first Mexican state to give women the right to vote in 1923, and several other states followed suit. However, women did not have the right to vote in federal Mexican elections until 1954.

The second wave of Mexican feminism emerged during the 1968 student protests, followed by the Mexican Dirty War between the government and left-wing groups. As their children were forcibly disappeared, detained, and murdered for protesting the government, Mexican mothers began organizing publicly. First, they demanded answers; then, they advocated for social and economic change. Alongside the Mother’s Movement, which was driven by working-class women, the more intellectual “New Feminism” movement was also active. The third wave of Mexican feminism emerged in 1976 when a financial crisis brought women from different backgrounds together.

Although women’s rights in Mexico have improved significantly since the Mexican Revolution, many challenges remain. The country has persistently high rates of domestic violence, sexual violence, and femicide, and many perpetrators go unpunished due to weak law enforcement, fear of retaliation, corruption, and limited access to justice. On average, Mexican women earn less than men and experience workplace discrimination while performing most of the unpaid care work. Indigenous, Afro-Mexican, migrant, and rural women, as well as single mothers are disproportionately affected by these and other issues.

The celebration of Mexican Women Day was initiated in 1960 by novelist and playwright Maruxa Vilalta, diplomat Amalia González Caballero de Castillo Ledón, and various civil society organizations, who sought to create a specific day to honor Mexican women and highlight their role in society. The first official celebration took place on February 15, 1961.

Mexican Women’s Day recognizes women’s struggle to protect their civil, political, economic, labor, and social rights and highlights their contributions to Mexican society in all areas of life. The holiday also serves as a reminder of the challenges Mexican women still face, including gender-based violence, economic inequality, unequal access to reproductive and maternal healthcare, and pressure to conform to traditional gender roles.