So Close and Yet So Far: Women, Social Reproduction, and Citizenship in Latin America

A Public Lecture by Leda Pérez, Visiting Faculty at the Sciences Po Centre for Research on Social Inequalities and Gender Studies Programme, Associate Professor, Universidad del Pacífico, Peru.

Women’s exclusive linkage to social reproduction through domestic and care work is a form of domination that limits the free movement, socioeconomic options, and, ultimately, citizenship rights of half of the world’s population. In Latin America, the region of the world with the second-highest population of paid domestic workers, nearly 20% of women work in domestic service, employment that is largely informal and precarious. Despite international norms, including the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention 189 on decent work for this sector, as well as region-wide national level legislation, fully implemented "rights" are mostly non-existent in Latin America. However, in countries where these laws are upheld, social protections and democracies are stronger for women generally.

Yet, two barriers stand in the way of progress. First, despite legislation, sociocultural practices regarding the undervaluation of these workers are ingrained in most countries of the region and, thus, domestic worker rights are largely disrespected, especially when enforcement is absent. Second, and relatedly, general pro-women policies have taken a "trickle-down" approach, assuming automatic equal protection for all. Unless this is inverted to prioritise complete socioeconomic and political rights for domestic and/or care workers, women’s full inclusion in the democratic project will remain elusive. This presentation seeks to reorient the discussion on this score, centring the unmet rights of historically marginalised women as a first step to closing the equality gap between the genders, but also among women.

Leda Pérez's presentation will be followed by a discussion with Anwita Dinkar, doctoral researcher at the Sciences Po Center for the Sociology of Organisations (CSO).

This event is part of the Visiting Faculty programme, which is implemented through the Université Paris Cité - Sciences Po partnership.

It will take place in the Amphithéâtre Lavoisier at Université Paris Cité, Campus Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006 Paris.