O sentido do trabalho na vivência de mulheres negras congadeiras

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how Black women participating in the congado tradition perceive the meaning of work. The research is qualitative and descriptive in nature, conducted through semi-structured interviews with Black women involved in the congado in the city of Ituiutaba, Minas Gerais. Data were analyzed using the content analysis technique proposed by Bardin (2016). The results show that, for the interviewed Black women congado participants, the meaning of work extends beyond income generation; it is linked to survival, dignity, independence, personal fulfillment, identity, and social transformation. Participants reported experiences marked by structural racism, gender inequality, professional devaluation, and difficulties in entering and remaining in the labor market. Furthermore, the congado proved to be a significant space for resistance, the strengthening of Black identity, cultural belonging, and ancestral connection, as well as a means of confronting social inequalities. The findings also reveal that work is perceived simultaneously as a source of fulfillment and suffering, shaped by social, cultural, and economic factors that directly influence these women's life trajectories.