Claudia Sheinbaum
Amazing Advocate for Women and the Environment
“Without an active role of the state oriented towards social justice, the concentration of wealth only deepens inequality and leaves
millions in poverty.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico
A fiercely courageous advocate for women, both for their safety and their rights, as well as the environment, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was born to Jewish scientists and activists. Her mother, Annie Pardo Cemo, a biologist, was born in Bulgaria during World War II; the family later immigrated to Mexico to escape the Holocaust. Her father Carlos was a chemical engineer and left-wing activist. Her parents made young Claudia keenly aware of the struggle for justice, as both had been detained during the Tlatelolco massacre, an authoritarian government-led shooting of students and civilians protesting just days before the Olympics were held in Mexico.
Ms. Sheinbaum demonstrated an interest in the arts and sports, studying classical ballet throughout school and college, participating in the rowing team at college, and playing the guitar. She studied physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) earning her B.A., then earning a master’s in energy engineering in 1994. Ms. Sheinbaum was the first woman admitted to the Ph.D. program in Energy Engineering at UNAM, breaking glass ceilings. She completed her Ph.D. in 1995. Doing postdoctoral research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she investigated energy consumption and climate change mitigation. She has written 100+ scientific articles and two books on energy efficiency, sustainability and climate change. Throughout her political career, she has made great strides for the environment.
During college, Ms. Sheinbaum became actively involved in left-wing politics. She was one of the founders of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática in 1989 and was a member of the Consejo Estudiantil Universitario, which advocated for free public education at UNAM. She married fellow activist and political scientist Carlos Ímaz Gispert in 1987, and they raised two children. They spent thirty years together before divorcing amicably.
Photo by Eneas De Troya
Ms. Sheinbaum’s first entrance into politics came in 2000 when Andrés Manuel López Obrador, then head of government of Mexico City, appointed her Secretary of the Environment. Here she first demonstrated her commitment to both the environment and gender issues, since at that time, Mexico had widespread air pollution. Her early research had optimized wood fuel use in rural households to cut indoor air pollution and prevent deforestation and save women who cook over open fires. Over 35 million trees and bushes were planted to renew the forests. She worked hard to train lower income women as environmental advocates, promoting recycling. Her intention was to make women visible as agents of sustainability rather than passive victims of pollution. Cutting fuel emissions, Ms. Sheinbaum instituted emissions checks twice a year, formulations of fuel, and encouraged use of public transportation. She also promoted rainwater harvesting, especially for lower income areas. Her contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change earned her a share of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the panel for improving global understanding of climate change due to human behavior.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
A passionate champion of women, she helped create the city’s first specialized prosecutor’s office for femicide and gender-based violence, which was astonishingly high in the 1990’s in Mexico. Domestic violence was exacerbated by machismo, institutionalized corruption, and a dearth of women in government. This all changed in 2018, when Ms. Sheinbaum was elected as the first women head of government of Mexico City. Her feminist perspective immediately shone through when she chose a cabinet of 50% percent women, developed a gender-alert mechanism for Mexico City, and increased the number of shelters for abused women. Knowing how much science had meant in her life, she created the “Mujeres en la Ciencia” scholarship program to increase female participation in STEM.
Clearly as a result of the Internet, “digital violence” against women became a crime. Marching on International Women’s Day, and mandating audits to ensure equal pay in government contracts, Ms. Sheinbaum took visible, significant action to support women. “We will continue working hard on the eradication of gender violence, justice in the event of femicides, educational programmes for the prevention of teenage pregnancy, and the financial independence and empowerment of women in today’s society.”
In November 2023, she married Jesús María Tarriba Benítez, a quiet risk analyst and academic at National Autonomous University of Mexico’s (UNAM) engineering faculty. He is often at her side during public events, but he does not like the spotlight.
Photo by Lula Oficial
Breaking another glass ceiling, on October 1, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum claimed 59.8% of the vote and became Mexico’s first woman president, winning by unprecedented margins. She said, “I did not arrive alone. We all arrived. This is the era of women.”
So far, President Scheinbaum’s policies have been highly peoplecentric, especially for women, students, and seniors. She expanded the National Institute for Women to a full Secretariat of Women and launched a hotline alongside centers for survivor support. She announced a national “System of Care” to redistribute unpaid domestic labor traditionally borne by women, saying “There can be no transformation of Mexico without the transformation of women’s lives.” She created Constitutional amendments which eliminated gaps in pay and opened 1000 Child education Centers. She insists on gender parity in federal offices. As she explained, “The Public Centers for Early Childhood Education will be part of what we call a care system, because women have the right to go out to work, if they so desire, and for our daughters and sons to be protected.”
Photo by EneasMx
Change means money and President Sheinbaum has allocated funds to make that change happen. 2.3% of Gross Domestic Product went to programs helping 32 million families, expanding on pensions for 12 million elderly citizens, providing bimonthly payments of 3,000 pesos to one million women aged 60-64; and employing 20,000 health workers to give home visits to seniors and people with disabilities. She also awarded scholarships to 5.6 million secondary students and expanded youth employment to 150,000+. Her government helped with housing issues, forgiving debt for 1.5 million families, building nearly 250,00 new homes and providing funds for home improvements. President Sheinbaum instituted a 12% minimum wage increase and extended social security to one million app-based workers. As she has stated, “Without an active role of the state oriented towards social justice, the concentration of wealth only deepens inequality and leaves millions in poverty.”
President Sheinbaum and President Biden (photo from Biden White House)
President Sheinbaum spurred foreign investment to $34.3 billion, and cultivated energy independence along with a commitment to renewable energy. She banned genetically modified corn and protected water supplies. She created the largest solar rooftop program in Latin America. Since she became president of Mexico, there’s been a 25% drop in homicides. In November 2025, Mexico banned all forms of dolphin entertainment and plans to release 350 dolphins back to the ocean.
Showcasing her desire to be close to the people and government employees, she personally visited all 32 government organizations, which reinforced her accessibility. She visited five countries and went to G20 and G7, strengthening Mexico’s foreign relations. GDP growth is at 1.2% and her approval ratings are consistently above 70%. As she has said, “It’s worth asking ourselves: how was this historic reduction in poverty and inequality achieved? It’s called social justice.”
While there has been substantial improvement during 2025, machismo is still alive and well and raised its ugly head. On Nov 4, 2025, when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum walked through Mexico City meeting supporters, Uriel Rivera broke through the crowd and assaulted her. The next day, President Sheinbaum said “I decided to press charges because this is something I experienced as a woman, something all women in our country experience.” She continued, “If they do this to the president, what will happen to all the young women in our country?” A grandmother now, she referenced having been assaulted as a girl and in college. In Mexico, 70.1% of women age 15 and older have encountered some sort of abuse, and 49.1% had dealt with sexual violence. On November 12, 2025, Secretary for Women Citlalli Hernández proclaimed the new presidential plan, “You Are Not Alone,” requiring uniform prison sentences for sexual abuse across the country, improved training for prosecutors and judges, and public awareness campaigns. Rivera ignited sweeping changes to protect women.
Throughout her career, President Claudia Sheinbaum has advocated for:
- the environment and an end to climate change
- women’s rights
- women’s safety against any kind of abuse
- education
- seniors
Lessons from President Sheinbaum’s Life:
A Commitment to the Environment Can Make Lasting Change. As a climate scientist, President Sheinbaum has approached her political career by studying data and then taking action. As Mexico City’s Secretary of Environment and later Mayor, she depended on data about air-quality data, seismic sensors, and engineering research to determine policies. These science-backed decisions led to great return on investment, such as cutting air pollution in Mexico City by nearly 30% and establishing the fastest Covid vaccine rollout in Latin America.
Resilience in the Face of Hate and Bullies President Claudia Sheinbaum broke several glass ceilings: the first woman admitted to the Ph.D. program in Energy Engineering at UNAM, Mexico’s first woman president, and Mexico’s first Jewish president. These achievements did not come without backlash. She received frequent sexist comments and suffered a sexual assault. Many antisemitic attacks have been thrown her way. With poise and grace, she has soldiered on, never becoming a victim, always fighting back. She pressed charges when she was physically attacked, and changed laws, vowing to protect all the women in her country.
Real Change Can Occur When Women Lead. President Sheinbaum’s track record in a short period of time is nothing short of remarkable. From helping 32 million families to awarding scholarships to 5.6 million students to forgiving debt to 1.5 million homeowners to reducing pollution by 30% and establishing new policies to stop violence against women, to expanding foreign investment in Mexico and growing the GDP, she has made a significant difference for her people.
Action Steps You Can Take:
- If you care about climate change, research ways to help. Lead a community clean up, start a recycling program at work, be conscious of the containers you use.
- Consider taking more leadership roles within your community, whether it’s at work, at your place of worship, in service projects. Share your wisdom with others.
- Try using a scientific approach to solve problems. Check out the research and data and make informed decisions.
Did this article inspire you?
Please share your feedback and share it with others here:
