The challenge of work and family 'conciliation' and the bipolarity of the female labor market in contemporary Brazil

In Brazil, as in much of the world, the reproductive responsibilities and activities of 'care' in general, remain as women, leaving them the challenge of combining productive and reproductive spheres. This would be the principal residence of the sexual division of labor in its most traditional and binary aspect, being a central aspect of gender inequality.

 Without denying the achievements made by women in search of space and legitimacy in the labor market, but rather precisely because of these - coupled with the permanence of reproductive activities as women’s responsibility - is emerging new binaries among women themselves.

            Since only through the 'delegation' - for other women, generally poorer -  the work and family ‘conciliation’ is possible,  the intersection of social relations among women is well marked; fostering new phenomena, as the polarization of female labor market.

 In one hand, is the growth of higher-level positions for women, giving them the necessity, but also the means, to delegate household and family tasks to other (poorer) women. In the other, as consequence, is the growth of the more precarious pole of the female labor, which means, as a rule, precarious labor relations, low wages and social isolation. This pole is represented by maids or nannies, and usually occupied by regional migrants - since the vast regional differences in Brazil make the country self-sufficient in this type of labor. With women of humble origin migrating from poorer regions to the most urbanized and developed regions of the country.

Without efficient organizational support, middle class women are delegating “their” home responsibilities for poorer (migrant) women. But, how can poor migrant women, who are involved in precarious labor relations and use to live with the absence of government, articulate work-family responsibilities? Delegating to whom? Another challenge to contemporary feminism.