The role of women in the production and reproduction of work in capitalism in the light of some concepts

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to discuss the role of women in the production and reproduction of labor power in capitalism, looking at historical, social, and economic aspects. For this aim, a literature revision was carried out, focusing on aspects of the insertion of women's work in capitalism from the dimensions of production and social reproduction, in order to emphasize synthesized elements of the discussion. In this perspective, the bibliographical research was used as a technical procedure, of exploratory nature, in order to map some concepts considered relevant in the debate of the field of a more critical tradition, such as the contributions made by Kergoat (2009), Saffioti (2015) and Hirata (2017), among others. Based on this discussion, it was possible to argue how the sexual division of labor interferes in order to naturalize the activities developed by women and men in society and how this process affects the lives of female workers. Thus, what the sources consulted reveal is that the jobs considered of greater social value continue to be reserved for men and the care and reproduction of labor force, which are indispensable for the production and reproduction of life, are performed free of charge by women, remaining invisible and undervalued. And, furthermore, beyond social reproduction, there is a deterioration of the socioeconomic condition of black women in relation to white women. Thus, it is verified that being a woman and being black increases social inequalities. In this sense, it is important to discuss social relations considering sex, race and class in the labor market, in production and in capitalist reproduction, because society is crossed by the mark of sex, race and class.