ABSTRACT
Societal constructs of motherhood-women as child bearers and nurturers-have profoundly affected women's involvement in paid employment. Studying forms of protective legislation in different countries can helps to think about ways of reconstructing motherhood. In both Mexico and the United States, protective legislation has been enacted in ways that control women's experiences as mothers by attempting to further or maintain their traditional role in the family. In Mexico, protective legislation furthers a concept of the family in which the husband is the head of the household and their wives are their dependents and the bearers and nurturers of their children. Further, some feminists in Mexico advocate for enforcement of protective legislation such as day care and pregnancy leaves. However, antidiscrimination legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and several executive orders, together with the subsequent judicial interpretation of these laws, have served to dismantle protective legislation.
