BALANCING WORK AND CHILDCARE: EVIDENCE OF TWO TEXTILE MANUFACTURING TOWNS OF TEHUACÁN, MÉXICO.

Arlette Covarrubias

Tehuacán, Mexico

The NAFTA treaty in 1994 stimulated the boom of textile assembly plants “maquiladoras” in the region which put together mainly jeans increasing the demand for female labour force in the region.

Objective

Determine the interdependence of possible welfare states married women and their children can obtain by wives´ participation in different activities available to them; these are the recently created textile assembly plant jobs and the traditional self-employment activities women carry out in the area.

Capabilities Approach It sees human life as a set of ‘beings and

doings’, functionings, which reflect the state of a person. Ej. being well nourished, being healthy, being housed, being able to read and write, being confident, escaping morbidity, achieving self respect, etc.

Capability, refers to the combination of functionings a person has the potential to achieve. It reflects a person’s freedom to choose between different ways of living

Interdependent Capabilities

When we look at family, each persons Capability should be assessed (Nussbaum 2000)

The actions or decisions of one individual might limit the options available to others. One would expect such interdependencies to be particularly stark within the household. My individual conversion factors are incomplete without a recognition of this interdependence. (Iversen 2003)

Research Site

Santiago Miahuatlan Population: 11,329

28.37% married women employed

80.33% of employed work in Maquila

San Gabriel Chilac Population 11,121.

14.75% married women employed

62.50% of employed work in Maquila

Fieldwork Techniques

Number of in-depth interviews by Town

Wives Husbands Total

Miah Chil Miah Chil Miah Chil TotalCurrently working in maquila 26 23 19 16 35 39 74 -Previously worked in maquila 14 13 11 8 25 21 46 -Has never worked 10 10 6 7 16 17 33 -Works in another activity 2 2 2 1 4 3 7Total wives without salaried work

26 25 10 9 80 80 160

Care for Children  ‘Its one’s turn to look after the kids at home, but

then one does not worry (about them). But, if it were for me I go to work. To be honest, I like to work.’

‘As I have my children, I could not dedicate myself for example, to the maquila, because I couldn’t take care of them, even though I have my mum. But it is very different one as a mother than a grandmother, besides my mother is old. Then, one thinks of something where I can not neglect my children, that is why I dedicate myself to my animals, embroidering, a little of everything. This way I can look after my children.’

Multitasking ‘I cannot (work for the maquila) because

of my children, I cannot leave them alone and here washing, I am also watching them. And if I worked outside, then I would leave my children. Therefore I better dedicate myself to wash and not go out. My children as they are small, I have to take care of them as well.’

Risks for Children “One neglects their children, it is not the

same, you know in these days, the kids stay, the parents are not there anymore, and then they go with their friends, God knows what they are doing in the streets, that is why I don´t risk going (to work to the maquila)

School Meetings “He (her husband) told me no, that now

we have our two daughters and now they need us for anything including school meetings, I am of some things, letters that teachers bring us, and we have to go, because there are lots of mums whose children feel bad because their parents do not go, to be honest I am always going to school meetings.”

Children´s Education ‘We have our children in the school

and they pay husbands very little. It is to help each other in the maquila or in any activity.’ We do it ‘to provide our children with education, because we didn’t study we need to give them the best.’

Children´s Health ‘Last time (she worked in the

maquila) it was because my son had become ill, because it was necessary to cover the expenses and we had no money. Both of us worked, her in the maquila and me in the fields, because really I couldn’t manage by myself.’

Women Children

Category Functionings Negative Positive Negative PositivePhysical health Being free of

sickness-Detriment inwomen’s health

-Access socialsecurity.-Additional

income

-socialsecurity -additionalincome

Being free oftiredness

-Long workinghours-Double burdenwork

Mental wellbeing

Being free ofpressure

-Pressure frommanagers

-No isolation -Quality timeWith mother

Being free ofstress

-Quotas to becompleted

Education andknowledge

Being able tohave aPersonaldevelopment

-Opportunity togetjob promotion

-Income foreducation

Quality timewith family

Being able tohave qualitytime childrenand family

-Long workinghours limit time tospend with family

-Quality timeWith mother

Women Children

Category Functionings Negative Positive Positive NegativeSocial Relations

Being able to see and have friends

-Being accepted in society (norms)

-Space to make friends

Allocation of time

Being able to engage in leisure activities

-Double burden work-Long working hours

Respect Being respected at the household

-Decisions within household-Monetary independence

Being free of domestic violence

-Social norms plus long working hours

-Monetary independence

Self worth -Monetary independence-Engaging in activity of choice

Conversion Factors The degree in which a person can transform a

resource into a functioning. Personal conversion factors are internal to the

person, such as metabolism, physical condition, sex, reading skills, or intelligence.

Social conversion factors are factors from the society in which one lives, such as public policies, social norms, practices that unfairly discriminate, societal hierarchies, or power relations related to class, gender, race, or caste. 

Wife´s social roles The home is my obligation as a wife Well because when one gets married you have

the obligation, once I got married, now I have to arrange the house, prepare food, to have things ready for when he (her husband) arrives home

One doesn’t take it as an obligation, or maybe.. yes.. as an obligation, it´s like the job of us women, because one has work at home, to clean, to iron, to prepare food, with food for example.. one has to go to school meetings.´

Husband´s social roles ‘It is wrong… because that is what we are here for, to

work and provide with what is necessary.’

‘if she goes to work and the husband stays (at home), then what would the husband do? The food? She will want him to stay preparing the food and her working he he he (laughs) One has to wake up early, leave the food done, it is also lots of work, it is lots of work.. but if one wants to prosper, a wife prepares the food, the husband comes, arrives from work, he eats. But if she goes to work and the husband stays being a ‘mandilon’ there, taking care of the children… that is not ok, then he gets used to it, then the woman works and he does not want to work any more, isn’t that true?’

Hours of work “well because we would then stay until late, we would

then stay to “keep a vigil”, then, because of my kids, to take care of them , then I decided to work like this for a while, selling tortillas”

“It gives me more time to see my daughters, take care of them, I don’t neglect them a lot, like the maquila is all day long, and here it is just until 2 p.m.”

‘Well they make you work more, because the working hours of an employee are from 8 to 6 in the evening, and you stay until you finish your part, until 9 or 10 at night. On Saturdays they make you work all day when on Saturdays it is only four hours and a half… and they do not pay you, for instance they pay you the four hours and a half and they do not pay you for the work of all the day.’

Conversion factors Social Roles

Working Hours

Institutional restrictions

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