563.13
Sweeping Floor and Building Identities: Centrality and Contraditions of Paid Work for Women in Brazil
PAID WORK FOR WOMEN IN BRAZIL
Authors : Wânia Rezende Silva
Cleumary Soletti Pereira
RC32
WOMEN IN SOCIETY
KEY WORDS : Work, Organizations, Identity, Gender
The XXI Century Brazilian Society has undergone to several transformations, whether in the political, economic, technological or social aspects. This new situation has led to changes in gender roles and labor relations, including women's work. Inserted in this context, this research presents a retrospective of Brazilian women's struggle for the conquest of their labor rights and interprets these changes empirically. We conducted a comparative case study on two organizations- one public another private- of Higher Education in the South Region of Brazil, with women that work in a cleaning sector for at least five years. We sought to understand how these women construct their identities at their social space of work and at home, as housewives. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group. It was found that for these women, the paid work has a centrality that builds contradictory feelings and actions. At first glance, the work promoted financial independence and increased self-esteem of these women. On the other hand they have experienced an invisibility as citizens and a lack of recognition of their activities in the organizations and at home. The consequence of this process has been a conflict in the construction of their identities as workers and as housewives.
KEYWORDS: Working Women, Identity, Organizations