Significados atribuídos ao feminino por mulheres que trabalham e estudam em ensino técnico profissionalizante

Abstract

The primary goal of this research was to describe how women who live in Curitiba and take on three shifts of work construct meaning through their several tasks: home, professional and educational tasks. The specific goals were: identify their support network, describe the family roles’ distributions, analyse the reasons that lead these women to seek an educational training and how they signify their home, professional and educational duties. The participants were nine married women who have children and study in technical schools in Curitiba. In order to collect data a semi-structured interview was done asking questions about: social and demographic data, gender role, household chores, job market, reasons for choosing the educational training and support network. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and it was carried an analysis of content. The results of the interviews pointed to the woman being perceived as the house foundation, in the position of primary source of income and in some situations as the person who coordinates and harmonizes the family. The repetition of the habits received in the family formation is reproduced by these women in the child-rearing.The presence of the idea of a “warrior” woman who looks for development in the personal and professional field, and also in a few cases of the “warrior” woman who has the female abillity to bear suffering has also been presented. Another factor that was evidenced was the factor of women being more responsible than men. Man as the source of income was reported as a relly relevant factor, as well as the awareness of the social demand on him. The presence of the father brings harmony, respect and many times he is the thermometer of this relation. In some families the responsability for the education and the imposition of rules and limits of the children is on the mother and many decisions who has the last words is the woman. In the personal and professional goals a great number of women subordinate their desires to the family achievements, for them the main priority is to be able to provide their children with fine quality studies, acquire their own houses, study and to be able to travel holds a great importance as well. They reported to feel motived to work for social values, doing good for the others. Financial independence, the satisfaction achieved through work, as well as the experience in academic world gave them positive change. The house duties were dispensed in situations in which the man colaborates and in moments when he does not, the naturalization is presented as a female task. Personal care for these women holds great impotance, they believe that men would not cope with the numberless tasks that they are able to perform.