El papel de las mujeres en las exploitaciones familiares lecheras : analisis de situationes francesas y uruguayas

• Published in: Agrociencia (Montevideo, Uruguay) Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 55 - 63
• Main Authors: Courdin, Virginia, Dufour, Annie, Dedieu, Benoit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Life Sciences; lechería; familiar agriculture; agricultura familiar; rural work; mujer rural; trabajo rural; decision making; toma de decisiones; rural woman; dairy
• ISSN: 1510-0839

The aim of this study was to characterize differentaspects of women’s work at dairy family farms in France and Uruguay, from theanalysis of practices and theirs representations. A study of 20 cases of womenwas carried out (10 in Uruguay and 10 in France), using semi-structuredinterviews, that later were re-transcribed for the thematic analysis ofcontent. The results revealed that the familiar dairy farming involve anhomogeneous participation of women work, with the main difference betweenstudied countries in the gender status in the society and professional level ofthe women. Women from both countries carry out mainly the milking, the care ofcalves and the administrative work, varying their degree of responsibility.Their role in the work group can be assigned, delegated or chosen. The constructedcompromise as a whole, can vary between strong (be responsible for tasks,active participation in decisions and chosen role) and weak (littleparticipation in the tasks and little exchange of information). The diversityof compromise is related to the joint between familiar, professional and socialuniverse, offering to the women a space of autonomy in time management and taskaccomplishment. These factors are important in the construction of an identityof their own. absent