M.A. (Sociology) / This study investigated the effects of female cross border traders’ work on family well-being in the context of economic hardships in Zimbabwe. The research focused on ten Zimbabwean married women, who work as cross border traders between Harare and Johannesburg and it aimed to understand how their work as cross border traders impacted on the economic and emotional well-being of their families as well as on family resilience. Literature on cross border trading shows that the trade is a key livelihood strategy for families and households but the impacts of the traders’ increased mobility and prolonged absence from home on the emotional well-being of family members have rarely been explored. Using detailed data drawn from in depth interviews with the participants, this study sought to address this gap. The findings of the study reveal that cross border trading is no longer merely a survival strategy that meets the basic needs of families but instead, it has elevated the standards of living of the families, enabling traders to acquire highly valued property. Beyond such economic benefits, the women’s work is having significant effects on the emotional well-being of the family members. The women’s relationships with their spouses were found to be generally stable but in some cases were fraught with tensions and disagreements emanating from the trading work. In most instances, cross border trading work compromised the emotional care and the resilience of the children. The regular absence of the women from their homes presented additional responsibilities and burdens on their children. Older children, for instance, have to take care of their siblings in a context were the fathers do not play an active role in child care. The consequences of the women’s trading activities are evident but often overlooked by the families as they focus on increased material provision. The study sheds light on some of the effects of increased migration of Zimbabwean women on the family and calls for more extensive research on the family in Zimbabwe with the continued economic challenges in the country.

A sustentabilidade da vida humana, entendida como conjunto de atividades necessárias para o processo de reprodução social e manutenção da vida, por não ser considerada como trabalho produtivo, não tem sido tratada como prioritária para o desenvolvimento da sociedade e do indivíduo. Desenvolvida basicamente por mulheres no ambiente doméstico, é palco de desigualdades e conflitos, onde mulheres que não conseguem dividir responsabilidades vivem a dupla, tripla jornada de trabalho. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo conhecer quais as estratégias as mulheres curitibanas, que possuem trabalho remunerado fora do lar com exigência de escolaridade de nível médio, estão utilizando para enfrentar este desafio, com quem e com o que podem contar. É uma pesquisa qualitativa-interpretativa, que entrevistou 15 mulheres e procurou entender o significado da divisão sexual do trabalho, isto é, como o trabalho doméstico é dividido entre homens e mulheres de uma mesma família, e qual é a participação do Estado e do empregador. Através dos discursos das entrevistadas percebe-se que o momento é de avanços e permanências, onde a reprodução de comportamentos convive com mudança de valores e atitudes. O modelo predominante da divisão sexual do trabalho, definido por Hirata e Kergoat, é o da conciliação, embora apareçam os modelos tradicionais e de parceria em menor escala. Destaca-se também a participação das avós na emancipação das mulheres mães trabalhadoras, que podem contar com as suas próprias mães, sobretudo quando não conseguem o apoio do Estado e do empregador, por meio de creches para seus filhos. No que se refere às inovações tecnológicas notou-se que contribuíram significativamente como poupadores de tempo e esforço para realização das tarefas domésticas, mas não representam o foco principal na divisão sexual do trabalho. / The sustainability of human life, meaning the activities necessary for the process of social reproduction and life maintenance, as not conceived as productive work has not been treated as a priority for the development of the individual or the society. Performed basically by women in the domestic environment, it is the scene of inequalities and conflicts, in which women who cannot divide responsibilities face a double or triple day work. The object of this research is to know which strategies the working women of Curitiba, holders of a high school diploma, are using to go through this challenge, what services they can be provided and who they can count on. This qualitative and interpretative research has interviewed 15 women and tried to understand the meaning of the gender division of labour i.e. how is domestic work divided between men and women of the same family, and what is the role of the Government and the employer. Their testimonies evidence they are facing times of change and persistency, where the reproductive behaviour coexists with change of values and attitudes. The prevalent model of gender division of labor, defined by Hirata and Kergoat, is the conciliation, although traditional and partnership models also occur in a smaller degree. Grandmothers play a substancial role on the emancipation of the working women. They can count on their own mothers mostly when they cannot get the Government and employer’s support through day-cares for their children. Technological innovations have significantly contributed as time and effort savers for the accomplishment of domestic tasks, but do not quite picture the main focus in the gender division of labour.

A sustentabilidade da vida humana, entendida como conjunto de atividades necessárias para o processo de reprodução social e manutenção da vida, por não ser considerada como trabalho produtivo, não tem sido tratada como prioritária para o desenvolvimento da sociedade e do indivíduo. Desenvolvida basicamente por mulheres no ambiente doméstico, é palco de desigualdades e conflitos, onde mulheres que não conseguem dividir responsabilidades vivem a dupla, tripla jornada de trabalho. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo conhecer quais as estratégias as mulheres curitibanas, que possuem trabalho remunerado fora do lar com exigência de escolaridade de nível médio, estão utilizando para enfrentar este desafio, com quem e com o que podem contar. É uma pesquisa qualitativa-interpretativa, que entrevistou 15 mulheres e procurou entender o significado da divisão sexual do trabalho, isto é, como o trabalho doméstico é dividido entre homens e mulheres de uma mesma família, e qual é a participação do Estado e do empregador. Através dos discursos das entrevistadas percebe-se que o momento é de avanços e permanências, onde a reprodução de comportamentos convive com mudança de valores e atitudes. O modelo predominante da divisão sexual do trabalho, definido por Hirata e Kergoat, é o da conciliação, embora apareçam os modelos tradicionais e de parceria em menor escala. Destaca-se também a participação das avós na emancipação das mulheres mães trabalhadoras, que podem contar com as suas próprias mães, sobretudo quando não conseguem o apoio do Estado e do empregador, por meio de creches para seus filhos. No que se refere às inovações tecnológicas notou-se que contribuíram significativamente como poupadores de tempo e esforço para realização das tarefas domésticas, mas não representam o foco principal na divisão sexual do trabalho. / The sustainability of human life, meaning the activities necessary for the process of social reproduction and life maintenance, as not conceived as productive work has not been treated as a priority for the development of the individual or the society. Performed basically by women in the domestic environment, it is the scene of inequalities and conflicts, in which women who cannot divide responsibilities face a double or triple day work. The object of this research is to know which strategies the working women of Curitiba, holders of a high school diploma, are using to go through this challenge, what services they can be provided and who they can count on. This qualitative and interpretative research has interviewed 15 women and tried to understand the meaning of the gender division of labour i.e. how is domestic work divided between men and women of the same family, and what is the role of the Government and the employer. Their testimonies evidence they are facing times of change and persistency, where the reproductive behaviour coexists with change of values and attitudes. The prevalent model of gender division of labor, defined by Hirata and Kergoat, is the conciliation, although traditional and partnership models also occur in a smaller degree. Grandmothers play a substancial role on the emancipation of the working women. They can count on their own mothers mostly when they cannot get the Government and employer’s support through day-cares for their children. Technological innovations have significantly contributed as time and effort savers for the accomplishment of domestic tasks, but do not quite picture the main focus in the gender division of labour.

D.Litt. et Phil. / In recent research studies that have been done within the cadre of family sociology, researchers have emphasised the fact that the role of the man in the family is an important topic. This interest in the role of the husband/father has been facilitated by significant trends and changes of our time, manifesting world-wide, as well as in South Africa. These trends, such as the continuous rise in the rate of married women entering the labour market and the accompanying issues raised by changes in terms of the spouses' participation in household and childcare responsibilities, affect family life extensively. More researchers and theorists are now focussing on the shift from the man's role in the family as sole breadwinner to that of the active nurturant father within the context of a marital relationship characterised by companionship and an equal partnership between the spouses. For several decades the focus in South Africa, as in the case of other countries, fell on the increasing interface between work and family life, within the work/family spillover model, as experienced by the working married woman and how her marital and familial relationships are influenced by it. While it is clear from these research results, especially from those studies conducted in South Africa, that most men are no longer the sole or primary breadwinner in the family, it is less clear what new patterns of commitment and involvement these men are developing with regard to their family life. A related methodological shortcoming of sociological research on the husband/father role to date is that much of these research projects have relied on the wife/mother's report on her husband's attitude towards domestic responsibilities, his spousal and paternal conduct and the quality of the father-child relationship. As a result of this perspective on the changing role of the husband/father, the question arose as to what the situation in South Africa might be. The aim of this research was to shed light on the man's perception of his roles as husband and father in the dual-earner family and to what extent this perception may or may not stand in relationship to his experience of marital integration. In this quantitative research project the respondents were selected from the Gauteng area by means of purposive and snowball sampling.