Contribuciones de las mujeres a la economía rural y acceso a los recursos productivosuna mirada desde los casos del Cantón Santa Elena (Provincia Santa Elena, Ecuador) y la Comarca de Lugo (Provincia de Lugo, España)

Abstract

Concern about gender inequality in contemporary societies has underwent important changes in the last two decades, as it has been recognized in the international agenda as a relevant obstacle for the social and economic development of countries. Both in Europe and Latin America, legislative and institutional advances in favour of equality of men and women have been significant. Ecuador and Spain constitute good examples of this tendency. Notwithstanding, inequality persists among men and women that becomes apparent in the horizontal and vertical segmentation of the labour market for reasons of gender, as well as in the unequal access to basic resources such as housing, land and credit. The situation of women is generally much more unfavourable in rural areas than in cities: scant job offers have not discouraged their search for income, though, but complemented by commercial activities and initiatives of self-employment. Women have combined these jobs with other tasks in the form of community work that contribute to the dynamization of the areas where they live. This work presents two samples (one in Santa Elena, Ecuador, the other in Lugo, Spain) that confirm the prominence of female work in their respective communities. Results show long and intense working days that include both remunerated and non-remunerated work. This situation contrasts with the low representation of women as owners of property and businesses, or as recipients of social protection or benefits of labour, reaffirming the position of poverty and vulnerability in which they are installed. The situation demands further exploration of the settings in which men and women interact, if policies and mechanisms are going to be set in place to lead our societies closer to gender equality. This is specially important in the rural settings, where the greatest gaps exist, as it is the aim of the present work.