The women’s role in the family agriculture of Concórdia (SC): working time between productive and reproductive activities

Abstract

The pluractivity performed by women is essential in small agricultural production units, but economically their work is not perceived with the same importance given to traditionally male activities in agriculture. Seeking to highlight the feminine efforts in terms of paid and unpaid work, the present study, based on interviews with family farmers in Concórdia (SC), questions if it is possible to say that women's work is invisible in family farming because it disregards reproductive working time. Using a municipality in Santa Catarina as an object of study, the research takes a local character, showing that there are work outside formal work and, besides the paid work, there are several activities that need to be recognized to show the position of women in the economy, especially in family farming. Through the responses of the field research, it is possible to say that the double journey among agricultural women justifies the view that they do not have an active participation in productive work, only as a support. In addition, the partners have a relatively close perception regarding the time that is actually spent in the counterpart’s workday, but that hasn’t led to the adoption of a more collaborative position among couples. This division of work also occurs when analyzing the time spent on children's activities, making it evident that knowing the gender structure behind the agricultural activities is a way of guiding public policies aimed at the development of family farming and the promotion of gender equity via female empowerment.