Imaginarios sociales de las mujeres recicladoras informales de la ciudad de Cuenca respecto a su doble presencia en su contexto laboral y familiar, durante el 2021

Abstract

Informal recycling work is characterized by the scarcity of economic and social resources, as well as exposure to health risks. Women informal recyclers not only face the different conditions of their work context, but they are simultaneously confronted with their role in the family or reproductive sphere, which places them in a state of dual presence. In order to understand the meanings that women informal recyclers give to their double presence, the study revolved around the concept of social imaginaries approached from a gender perspective. The general objective of the research was to reflect the social imaginaries of women informal recyclers about their dual presence in their family and work context in the city of Cuenca, during the year 2021. The research was conducted in a non-experimental way, under a qualitative approach, considering a study group of 8 women informal recyclers, taking into account the difficulty of contact and dispersion of the group. The objective was to identify the elements of the context, the vulnerability factors present and the women's perception of their work and motherhood, so for the collection of information we used participant observation, a semi-structured interview and the application of a sociodemographic form. The results obtained showed that recycling is carried out without safety equipment and with exposure to different climatic factors that affect the health of the women recyclers, in addition to the fact that the income received does not exceed $100, which makes living conditions precarious to cover basic needs. The results also showed a marked difference in terms of informality or formality, which puts women recyclers at a disadvantage when it comes to working in different sectors and accessing materials. In relation to the family context, it was identified that women are the ones who take care of the family and household chores, which compromises their time and productivity. Thus, the social imaginaries of motherhood, femininity, and beliefs of the participants are the result of a sociohistorical process that has been configured from the conditions of recycling, and the conditioning to assume gender roles.