Labor discrimination against agricultural women workers from the district of Sicaya, Huancayo

Abstract

Historically, the rural world has counted on a valuable support: the Andean woman, who contributes to the family economy. However, her participation in the working world is subject to exclusionary and discriminatory practices that contravene her rights. The Mantaro Valley is a geographical context of agricultural activity; in the district of Sicaya, dozens of women, from this area or migrants, are engaged in agricultural work, and many of them are victims of such practices by the contractor and by their own work colleagues. In that regard, the research’s objective was to identify how labor discrimination against agricultural women workers from the district of Sicaya, Huancayo, 2017 is. It was conducted a qualitative study of ethnographic design. For the sample, 10 women, single or not, with children, who work for a contractor and who are victims of exclusionary practices, were intentionally selected. It was applied an in-depth interview to those women during their break; their behavior was observed during their working time and in the care of their younger children (participant observation). It was found that the preference of female or male work depends on the agricultural calendar; women mothers receive intolerant treatment from the employer, especially when they work in the company of their younger children; discriminatory practices are expressed in segregation by occupation and sex. It was concluded that labor discrimination against women takes the forms of a despotic treatment and salary distinctions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31876/sl.v1i1.74