Work and management of women in family farming: an analysis from feminist and gender studies

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on the theoretical possibilities for studies on rural women at work and managing family establishments based on the contributions of gender studies and feminism. Thus, we review the theoretical path of gender and work in the rural environment to critically reflect on the concept of management, address the specificities of management in rural establishments, and, finally, indicate theoretical paths for understanding the management of rural women. The analysis identifies two facets of management: instrumental, from management, and emancipatory, intrinsic aspect of organizing. In the results, we argue that the organizing agencies carried out by women offer alternatives to undo the managerialism embedded in organizational processes, which makes women's performance invisible, thus enabling the emergence of new access routes to reposition the role of women in rural establishments. In conclusion, this new approach considers that the emancipatory and collective aspects present in women's organizing may indicate a new way to address the concept and practices of management.