Some Maya still live in traditional housing; a one-room space made of wood, vines and palm leaves, with floors of dirt. Usually, the kitchen is located outside the house, in an open space.

A large percentage of the Maya are poor. They usually are only able to find non-skilled jobs in which they are paid very low wages.

Children help in domestic chores and many of them have an hour or more of workload before starting school in the morning.

In addition to household work and childcare, many women have jobs outside the home. They work as cleaners, waitresses and in factories.

Many of the men who participated in our research projects work at construction sites or at tourist resorts. Several of them work in the Cancun area by the coast. They may be away from their families for weeks at a time.

The patterns of the work of Maya men and women are changing the dynamics of the family.