XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

Black women, labor market, racism and sexism in the southeast Brazil (Campinas, 1876-1892)

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Brazil's Labor Market

Abstract

In my paper, I intend to present the results of my master's research in History conducted at the University of Campinas, in which I focused on the presence of non-enslaved black women in the labor market of the city of Campinas between 1876 and 1892. Through the analysis of documents, such as the enrollment records of patients at the Santa Casa de Campinas hospital, I conducted a survey of the profiles of female workers treated at the hospital during the years 1876 to 1892. To enrich this analysis, I cross-referenced hospital data with the censuses of 1872 and 1890, as well as other demographic sources and documents that allowed for the reconstruction of the labor market of that time.
As the hospital documentation provided information about the race of individuals, I examined the existence of racial trends in the distribution of women among urban occupations in a labor market that was increasingly influenced by theories produced in the field of Medicine, aimed at justifying racial, class, and gender inequalities. To understand the underpinnings of these policies, I compared the medical theses produced during that period with the diagnosis books of patients admitted to the Santa Casa de Misericórdia and observed how racism and sexism in Brazil impacted the mobility of black women in different positions within the labor market. Through research in newspapers, I also examined how the mobilizations of the black community influenced the government's stance on the creation of laws related to domestic work in the region.

Author

• Taina Santos, Researcher