COOPERATIVISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: AGENDA FOR RACIAL AND GENDER EQUITY

Abstract

The International Cooperative Alliance (ACI) adhered to the United Nations agenda to promote sustainable development until 2030. Among the 17 established commitments, we chose gender equality and the reduction of inequalities to reflect on the promotion of equity in Brazilian cooperativism. Documentary research is used as a methodology, having as main source the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives’ (OCB) yearbooks and content analysis of the news published about the subject by the OCB. The research reveals the absence of data on racial belonging and the information inconsistency on gender in the yearbooks. However, it is clear that women are in an adverse position in the activity and occupy less managerial positions, as well as the reproduction of the sexual division of labor. Women have a greater presence in branches related to care, but they are few in agriculture and infrastructure. Based on these results, we propose a work agenda that includes the production of statistics disaggregated by gender and racial belonging; encourages the production of academic-scientific knowledge about gender and race in cooperativism, and creates working groups to think about policies to combat inequality in the sector.