“Nascidas no campo”: o espaço social de mulheres gestoras brasileiras atuantes em empresas rurais familiares do agronegócio

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the social space formed by Brazilian women working in rural family agribusiness companies, from the perspective of gender inequality and the intersection between family and business. Understanding that different provisions incorporated have important references in the meanings construction attributed to different ways of being a woman manager and in the comprehension which are the challenges faced in this context of tensions. The general objective was to describe the social space formed by Brazilian women managers working in rural family agribusiness companies which are serviced by a consulting company in the city of Pelotas/RS and that are part of the governance projects active in the year 2022. Methodologically, the research combined quantitative and qualitative techniques to collect the empirical data. The research gathered data about rural properties and 124 women managers, in addition to in-depth interviews with four managers. In addition, conversations were held with the psychologists responsible for providing consulting services and the family protocols of the companies surveyed were analyzed. Through the Multiple Correspondence Analysis, a graphic representation of the social space was obtained, in which at least four distinct profiles were identified, based on the combination of characteristics present in the managers, in their similarities, differences and belonging to contexts with similar or different particularities. Regarding individual experiences, based on the analysis of the narratives, it was possible to identify that the different dispositions incorporated in past experiences – in school, family and career contexts – influenced the construction of the meanings of being a female manager, in a masculinized context. Considering the tensions board, the results pointed to: high chargings on their own work; deep relationship with the family, with the business and with the rural environment; acting in sectors normalized as female even though they are occupying high positions within the organizational hierarchy; in parts, the recognition of the challenges and prejudices imposed on women, however, the naturalization of these impositions was also noticeable.