Socorro Ramirez1
During the last two and one half years, the National and Regional Work Teams of Organizations of Low-Income Women carried out fifteen meetings in all the regions of Colombia, which brought together approximately 2000 women from some 490 organizations. The great majority of participants that attended the meetings were part of the so-called "informal economic sector", which includes home-based self-employed workers, craft workers, and market vendors, among others.
During the first stage of these meetings (1985-1986) participants worked on issues relating to the economic crisis and its effects on their everyday lives, including their families, their work and their access to public and social services. During the second stage (1987) participants discussed the theme of community participation as it relates to women's issues in the home, the family, the workplace, and the State.
What we discovered during the course of these meetings is that during the economic crisis, women have been active in many areas of social life, searching for solutions in the midst of their deepening struggle for survival. The crisis highlights the multifaceted nature of the social conflicts they must face, which are created by gender, race, ethnic, and class differences. Moreover, the crisis is not only economic; it is a crisis of political order, of culture and of values.
Through the surveys of participants and their testimonies and discussions during the first stage of our project, it became clear that in spite of the decrease in income and social services available to low-income sectors of the population, their lack of employment opportunities and increases in living expenses, women continue to bear sole responsibility for the functioning of the home and their communities. In order to do so, they work harder to reproduce the work force in conditions which grow increasingly difficult, and take on additional, arduous work, which is frequently low-paying and physically exhausting. In the end they pay with their own labor for a significant amount of the capital which is transferred from developing to developed countries.
Faced with unemployment and reduced social services, women have learned to use their imagination by forming small businesses and organizing projects and services. Confronting their problems in a collective way helps them to improve their own self image, to assume their identity as women, and to change their relationships with their children, spouses and community. Such income generating projects help solve some of the women's most pressing economic problems, occasionally permit them to break out of their traditional confinement to domestic activities, and help them become involved in diverse social activities through which they can develop their potential and knowledge.
Nevertheless, women involved in the search for survival strategies usually fail to question traditional sex roles, with the result that women's socially determined role as reproducer is reinforced. For this reason, while recognizing in these meetings the great support which women provide in moments of crisis, we have tried as well to advance the search for our identity as women, for an understanding of our specific needs and for the strengthening of autonomous women's organizations.
the methodology used: creative participation
The methodology used in the meetings was designed to permit women to express their feelings and exchange experiences based on their everyday lives, within a creative and participatory environment. Participants used an action-training-research approach which was developed through games which helped women see their historical and cultural context and their place within it. Participation and collective evaluations of the debates were highly encouraged.
Some of the techniques used included poetry readings, theatre, dances, etc., which allowed a majority of the participants to speak in public for the first time. These methods made it possible for participants to hear a great wealth of testimonies and encouraged a meaningful sharing of experiences among them. They also allowed women to break away from the daily routine and concentrate on themselves.
A very important aspect of the methodology was its emphasis on the feelings and perceptions of each woman present and on her process of reflection. From the start participants were encouraged to come with many experiences to share and not to consider the organizers as the source of all wisdom. The participants coordinated the groups, expressed their ideas, directed the plenary sessions, etc. One activity used was to have participants relate their memories as grandmother, mother, and daughter. Small groups were formed, and through testimonies, women remembered and reflected on their lives. Between laughter and tears they collectively reconstructed a large part women's history during the past century. Later, participants acted out the story they had heard which most affected them.
All of the work which took place in the meetings is recorded in audiovisual form or compiled in printed material for broad dissemination. The meeting registration forms constitute an important source of information about the participants. The evaluation of the meetings also produced very important material. Participants filled out an evaluation form which permitted them to criticize the format of the meetings, present proposals for new events, provide ideas for redesigning the meetings and relate how they felt during the meetings.
The results of these meetings have been multiple. Women received training, had the opportunity to exchange experiences, and were motivated to work to strengthen their own organizations. Following is a presentation of our thoughts about the characteristics of the organizations with which we met as well as a discussion of the consequences of the economic crisis for women, within the family, in the workplace and in the community.2
worsening conditions of family life fall on women's shoulders
Economic "development" carries with it divisions which profoundly affect women's lives: the division between the home, where the labor force is reproduced, and the factory, where goods are produced; the division between domestic labor, considered non-productive, and productive labor outside of the home; the division between the private life of the family and the public life outside of it. These divisions prevent women from developing their capacities as human beings, since whatever women do within the home is considered a natural extension of their roles as mother and spouse, with no recognized economic value, social and cultural prestige or political importance.
To further add to this situation, economic crises are often accompanied by ideological campaigns which try to blame women both for high unemployment rates because of their "invasion" of the labor market and for the disintegration of the family. Women internalize these accusations as well as the subordination and the low esteem in which they are held, and accept sacrifice and suffering as inherent to their condition. Thus, it seems only natural in a crisis situation that women assume the weight of family responsibilities by carrying a triple workload: domestic, economic, and community activities.
The worsening of conditions within the family affects women in another unique way because of their responsibilities as reproductive agents. Tensions and marital problems increase, as do the number of homes abandoned by men and headed by women. Machismo is reinforced by authoritarian and aggressive conduct directed at women, which includes physical and psychological abuse and violence in the home, on the street and at work. The lack of income also affects women's health, causing an increase in suicides and psychosomatic illnesses. Juvenile drug addiction and alcoholism increase, relations among family members worsen, and delinquency, prostitution, truancy, vagrancy, and begging increase.
women's working conditions deteriorate during the crisis
Although women have always worked and contributed to the development of society, for social, ideological and cultural reasons, only paid labor, and not women's traditional labor, is considered "work". Housewives are classified as an economically inactive population, together with students, the handicapped and retired persons. Many of the paid positions which women do hold are the least stable, lowest paid, and least valued: work as domestics, craft work, jobs in hotels and restaurants, and in community or social services. While many of the jobs in the last category, such as nursing, teaching and social work, require high qualifications they, too, pay low wages.
During the 70s, an era of economic expansion, the participation of women in the labor force increased, because of their greater access to education. In 1978, an analysis of the evolution of the work force showed that women's situation within the work force had actually improved. Specific indicators showed a decrease in the number of domestic laborers, an increase in the number of women employees and laborers and a reduction in the number of self-employed women. As a consequence of the improvement of women's educational level, the numbers of women professionals, technicians and administrators increased during this period.
By 1985, however, this process had been reversed. An increase in unemployment, particularly for women and the youngest workers, was a product of the crisis and related factory closings and stalled production. With the de-industrialization of countries such as Colombia, the informal economic sector, which produces a third of the country's income and accounts for a large part of the labor force in most cities, has grown. The majority of this sector consists of women, who combine their domestic labors with home-based work or work as street vendors.
During this period, many businesses have dismantled their infrastructure and subcontracted out their work on a piecework basis in order to diminish the costs of their operations. This practice is frequent in the garment industry, where women finish parts in their homes as they carry out their household chores. These women work long hours, take care of their own machinery and absorb their own labor costs.
New transnational corporations obtain many advantages from this new division of work. In the restructuring of the productive apparatus which occurs during economic crises, production is divided into branches, phases and even countries. Latin America has been assigned the roles of assembly and export of manufactured goods. In the so-called "free trade zones", workers, primarily women, carry out these activities without receiving social security or union protection. Many of these jobs lack basic safety measures and are frequently inadequately regulated. These difficult labor conditions are aggravated by the deterioration in social and public services which makes women's work all the more difficult.
cuts in government spending adversely affect women
The inefficiency of state services results in more work for low-income women. Transportation is slow and dilapidated, reflecting a lack of respect for all, particularly women. Fares rise repeatedly. Long, circuitous, and congested routes lengthen the workday of women who make up the majority of users, because they must shop for the household, pay bills, run errands and travel with children and packages.
Electricity is frequently cut when it is most needed; sudden changes in voltage damage domestic appliances, with resulting strains on family resources. Further, few families can afford electric appliances to begin with, and those who do own such appliances often sell them in moments of economic need. In Bogota, only 2% of households have washing machines, which would help relieve one of the most time-consuming household tasks.
In Colombia, 19% of the urban population, 56.4% of the rural village population and 93% of the disperse rural population lack plumbing in their homes. According to a survey in 1981, more than 25,000 families in Bogota had no water in their homes. Women, thus, have to stand in long lines at water sources and then carry the water in heavy containers. If water is available, water pressure may be insufficient, the water not potable, or the plumbing deficient, all of which increase the work women must do. According to one study, more than half of housewives have to boil water in order to drink it.
The lack of sewers in some poor neighborhoods leads to disease, especially among children. Garbage collection services are nonexistent or prohibitively expensive. Housing in low-income neighborhoods is of poor quality. Families live in overcrowded conditions that lack adequate ventilation, and contain rudimentary stoves and makeshift beds. People live together with domestic animals, flies, accumulated garbage, etc. Finding adequate housing becomes more difficult every day because of low salaries and increasing costs of land and construction materials. The absence of streetlights in poor neighborhoods promotes delinquency and violence against women.
The situation in Bogota, the capital of Colombia and the "most developed" area in the country, reveals what life is really like. Of 114 million pesos allocated in 1986 to the city government, only 3 million pesos went to pay for social services. Twenty of each 100 school age children could not enter school in 1986 because of lack of space and only 30 of each 100 students that made it through primary school finished high school. Repeating grades and truancy were extremely high, particularly among female students. The City Department of Welfare provided services to only 15,000 of 100,000 children that needed assistance, because it had a budget deficit of 5 billion pesos in 1985. Day care centers are frequently closed or their hours reduced, and the "community mothers" concept promoted by the government doesn't begin to meet the need for safe childcare services. This creates problems for women who are either unable to work because of their child-caring responsibilities, or who must pay someone to watch their children, thus further reducing family income. In some cases women are forced to leave their children unattended thus compromising their safety.
According to data from the National Health Ministry, in 1980, 24% of the total population of the country was without health services and the remaining 65% received limited services at great personal expense. Yet money allocated to health is cut annually. In Bogota, for example, this portion of the budget has been cut by as much as 40% during the crisis. This continual budget cutting obliges hospitals and clinics to operate in very poor conditions. Bogota has only 90 public health centers for a population of more than 5 million inhabitants. The deterioration in health services and above all, the poor geographical and social distribution of the centers, makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible for the poor to receive attention, even in emergency cases. Women in particular lack adequate medical care for problems such as uterine cancer and prenatal care. Studies show that uterine cancer and complications resulting from childbirth are the principal causes of death among Colombian women.
The debt incurred by the State to pay for public services is very high. Thus, at the urging of the International Monetary Fund, the government has repeatedly sought to increase charges for these services by raising taxes and instituting quotas for the use of services.
As critical as the current situation is, however, Colombian society has managed to survive, thanks in large part, to the efforts and long work hours of women. Women continue to wash clothes, prepare food and care for children while contending with blackouts, fuel and water shortages, long lines, slow public transportation, and houses without appliances and basic comforts. All of these activities are, in reality, another form of tax, paid in work, which women carry out to alleviate the effects of the current economic crisis. Yet these activities are neither measured nor compensated in any way3. For example, it doesn't matter to society if women spend three minutes or three hours filling a wash tub; it only matters that women do the work. The quantity and productivity of women's work and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is not considered, because it is unpaid. In short, such work is "invisible" work. The State and many institutions that work with organized
- Journalist, educator, and social scientist. Coordinator of the Taller de Recursos para la Mujer, Bogota, Colombia.
- These reflections are the product of the collective work of the National Work Team of Organizations of Low-Income Women, the Regional Work Teams which carried out the meetings, the women participants in the meetings, the report prepared about the meetings with Ofelia Gomez which served as the basis for this article, the meetings held in Cuba to analyze the crisis, discussions from the DAWN meeting held in Bolivia, and research about the crisis and social movements.
- Desuremain, Marie Dominique. Mujeres y Servicios Publicos o Sociales. ENDA/Latin America, 1986.