Beyond stereotypes: the meaning of work for women in the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to understand the importance and the meanings of work for women working in the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro. In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 female police officers, and their testimonies were subjected to content analysis. The results indicate that work has a high centrality in their lives, despite the difficulties faced - both those inherent to the police activity and those arising from working in a male-dominated occupation. Remuneration stands out as a valued result of the work, which ensures some comfort and financial independence. The prestige that this occupation confers to the participants is also important, in addition to the pleasure and sense of purpose for carrying out a job perceived as socially relevant. The study contributes to the literature on the meaning of work by bringing the perspective of a group of women working in a male-stereotyped profession. In that regard, it is worth highlighting that the obstacles faced by the police officers who work in this stereotyped career seem not to prevent the positive meanings associated with their work.

Producción académica cualitativa sobre el sentido del trabajo 2010-2023 en Latinoamérica

“…De esta manera, estos estudios pueden contribuir a una gestión más efectiva y satisfactoria del personal en las organizaciones, lo que a su vez puede tener un impacto positivo en los resultados empresariales. Es importante resaltar el uso en varias publicaciones cualitativas del modelo para el sentido del trabajo desarrollado por la investigadora brasileña Morin (Gripp et al, 2022;Prado et al, 2021;Medeiros et al, 2018;Petri y Vaz, 2018). Esto es un aliciente académico que fomenta el empleo de visiones teóricas locales para el desarrollo de la investigación y la producción de conocimiento del constructo, relacionándolo con el impacto hacia la gestión del capital humano en las organizaciones y en la toma de decisiones informadas para políticas públicas relacionadas con el mundo del trabajo en la región.…”