Child care and paid work regarding three generations of mothers of montevideo: The paths of gender inequalities

Abstract

It is a common notion that there were changes in gender relations that have made men today more involved in child care than they were before. These statements lead to the question about how child care practices were then and how they are now, linked to the issues about paid work for women of three generations of families who belong to different social levels. That being said, the Gender Sociology Research Group developed a qualitative research in the city of Montevideo inquiring about practices and representations of child care in the context of three generations of women and men through in-depth interviews (with 36 women and 13 men from different socioeconomic backgrounds). Based on the analysis of the information obtained, the article contributes to the understanding of the perceptions about the participation of mothers of children under 6 years of age, and who belong to different generations, the various forms of articulation work/child care experienced, as well as the meaning attributed to the participation in the labor market and also in child care. This article presents strong class distinctions and generational marks that can disappear, be inherited, or even converted into gender mandates in care. Finally, we problematize the incorporation of women into the labor market as a factor of change in search of a more equitable distribution of care work among current heterosexual couples.