Youth and inequality in Mexico: an adultcentric bias?

Abstract

This article analyzes the inequality to which young people in Mexico are subjected. Government institutions classify youth as a discriminated population sector and identify poverty as the principal problem that young people face. Official statistics, however, do not reflect poverty being a characteristic of this population group, so we discuss the limitations of official measures of poverty levels among young people. The labor market is examined as one case of the many contexts in which the inequality that affects young people becomes visible, highlighting the need to go beyond the perspective of poverty when studying inequality in the case of youths. On this basis, I propose shifting from a perspective centered on poverty to one that focuses on adultcentrism in social policy and studies about how inequality impacts the young. Adultcentrism is proposed as an analytical tool that can aid in evaluating normalized disadvantages and exposing existing inequalities. Finally, the need for a comprehensive diagnosis of structural inequality is emphasized. Such a diagnosis should examine each discriminated population group separately and specifically to identify the structures and effects of inequality more precisely so as to design more effective strategies for achieving equality.