New Roles in Rural Contexts. Women, Work and Family in Chile Today

Globalization, modernization and neoliberal policies have significantly contributed to the transformation of traditional rural life in Chile in the last decades.  A more heterogenous and modernized rural world has emerged, although still strong gender and social inequalities remain. Within these changes, the visibility of women in public spaces highlights, in particular in the educational sphere and in labor market, even though Chile still has a low rate of female labor participation compared to other Latin American and OECD countries. These new reality implies that  the  traditional sexual division of labor is being transformed or questioned, since women incorporation to higher educational levels and to labor markets implies for them  geographical mobility, new social and economic networks and new perceptions and images about their  roles in society. Therefore, the new productive role contributes to women “empowerment” at personal, family and local levels, having accordingly an impact in family life and men´s role.  

From a perspective that combines quantitative and qualitative methods, this paper analyzes the effects of the new productive role of rural women in the reestructuring and current dynamics of families, in the intra-family relationships, negotiation processes and strategies of conciliation between work and family, and explores the implications of these changes at local and community levels and for society as well. The paper  is part of a broader study  held in the province of Ñuble, Central Chile,  concerning with  female work in different social and geographic spaces and the effects of paid female work at personal and family levels and in local and national development (Proyecto DIUBB 133324 2/R).