Social vulnerability and the “reconciliation” of work and family in Brazilian metropolitan regions

The paper seeks to reflect on the conditions of "reconciliation", or better, articulation between work and family among female workers in two different familiar conditions: spouses and heads of households. It analyzes data from a survey of the Project "Vulnerability" held in 2007 in two metropolitan regions of São Paulo, Brazil (Metropolitan Region of Campinas and Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region) involving almost 4000 households.

It starts with the assumption that the dynamics of gender relations in work-family articulation, i.e., the linkage between productive and reproductive work allows to foster reflection on the vulnerability of families. Since the paid work of women - household heads and spouses/partners - becomes increasingly important in the maintenance of families, forms of "reconciliation" between work and family can shape the direction of family unity for the good and for evil.
It is from this perspective that, for both regions, comparative data are analyzed referring to the labor insertion of women, and their concurrent participation in domestic work. Three dimensions are analyzed: the distribution of domestic tasks between household members, caring for children and the making of important decisions for the family life.