Social inequalities in Brazilian nursing discourse: Social commitment and hegemonic struggle

Abstract

Background: Social inequalities are a contemporary challenge. Nurses play an important role in fighting against them, defending social justice and promoting more democratic power relations. Objective: To analyze the dimensions of social inequalities in the discourses of representing entities in Brazilian nursing. Methodology: Qualitative document study in a sample of ten public texts illustrating the positioning of 3 Brazilian nursing entities. Results: The discourse on social inequalities is represented by the dimensions of Gender, Race/ Ethnicity, Economic status, and Other vulnerabilities, highlighting the normalization of racism and discrimination as factors that affect society and nursing. Nursing’s specific interests are presented as society’s general interests, particularly regarding the dimensions of gender-based and racial inequalities. The identification and defense of vulnerable groups and persuasion of social actors are the main forms of discourse organization in the entities’ position. Conclusion: Representing entities are highly committed to a discourse on social inequalities, namely gender-based, racial, related to economic status and other vulnerabilities.