Cuidado ao idoso e trabalho doméstico: Uma análise da conjunção de opressões.

Abstract

The sexual division of labor is a reality that has permeated social structures for centuries and plays a fundamental role in sustaining family care in Brazil. This study analyzes the topic of paid care for the elderly in the home context, with the central objective of seeking to understand how class, gender and racial oppression permeate the professions of domestic servants and caregivers, the main figures in elderly care at home. The qualitative-based methodology used in the research involves semi-structured interviews with 15 workers in these areas, in Uberlândia and Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, with a particular focus on women's experiences, given the female predominance in these professions. From these interviews, a dialogue was carried out with studies and theoretical references from the Sociology of work, feminist studies and care studies. The data analysis method used was content analysis, with the aim of selecting central categories to achieve the objective of this research. The research revealed that, despite some particular nuances of these professions, in addition to common characteristics such as precariousness, work overload, informality and intense physical and emotional demand, reflecting a systematic devaluation and perpetuation of inequalities in wages and opportunities. The analysis also highlighted the naturalization of care and domestic work as a "female gift", and the difficulty in recognizing it as a professional qualification, contributing to the feminization and precariousness of these occupations. Furthermore, unpaid social reproduction was discussed, with women working multiple shifts, and the predominance of black women in low-paid tasks. The content analysis, guided by the categories of Professional Identity, Working Conditions, Naturalization of Domestic Work, Social Reproduction and Discrimination, sought to establish a dialogue between theory, official statistical data and observed realities, emphasizing the intersection of class, gender and race in the experiences of these workers.