Women’s participation in seasonal agriculture is widespread. Their patience, dexterity and speed make them particularly competent for harvesting and packing export crops.  In Latin America, employment in seasonal agriculture is one of the most common ways of making a wage.

But unemployment, referred to as "months of silence" in Central America and "blue months" in Chile, form the other side of the coin in seasonal farm work, especially in areas where few other job options exist. But joblessness is not seen as a factor affecting women's health.

Studies of unemployment demonstrate how being without work can damage health. Not only does unemployment bring economic consequences. It generates mental health problems as well. One reason for this is that the unemployed person loses her role in society. The jobless person is denied participation in public life.

Yet, unemployment and its consequences are considered a male problem, despite the fact that it also affects women. Studies on this topic focus on men who are still seen as principal providers for the family.

At the same time, although unemployment affects both men and women, it differs in significance. The roles assigned by society to each sex give different values to the unemployment of each sex. For men, employment or unemployment are viewed as the only possible alternatives. Women, in contrast, are given a third option – to stay at home as full-time "housewives", an occupation that draws a curtain over their need to be employed. Domestic work, which is largely invisible and socially undervalued, isolates women.

"When I am working, I feel relief, economically and in all other ways", says Patricia, a Chilean worker interviewed by Chile's Centro de Estudio de la Muher (CEM) researchers. "At home, I'm alone or with the children. With my husband, I talk about the children, money, problems. At work, it's different. You get the problems off your back".

CEM's investigation into the situation of seasonal workers on Chile's vineyards showed the extent of unemployment. Women workers were employed for an average of six to seven months a year doing various tasks. Half of the women interviewed were unemployed for the rest of the year although they had sought work. Only 14 percent of the women interviewed combined agricultural and other jobs to be employed all year round.

The perceptions of these women concerning their health varied significantly between the work season and the unemployed period. When working, the women feel exhausted, experience aches, pains and other work-related illnesses. They complain of bad relations with their bosses, long shifts and the additional burdens of domestic chores. They fear exposure to toxins and dismissal. Fifty-two percent of those interviewed said they felt poorly or bad while working.

However, the number of women who judged their health to be poor rose to 65 percent during periods of unemployment. While complaints related to work conditions decreased, the women reported a drop in their moods. Bad humor, listlessness and feelings of depression increased with unemployment. Without jobs, the women complained of reduced income, isolation and loneliness.

Thus, despite the poor conditions that wage work brings, women laborers value the social space and friendship that work offers. Having health has health benefits. It lessens stress and increasing feelings of self-sufficiency and self-esteem.

Source: Women's Health Journal 1-95, Latin American & Caribbean Women's Health Network