Gender, Class, and Ethnicity: Perspectives of White Portuguese and Black African Women on Labor Dynamics in the Cleaning Sector

Maria Helena Santos; Núria Romão; Carla Cerqueira

doi:10.3390/socsci12010020

Gender, Class, and Ethnicity: Perspectives of White Portuguese and Black African Women on Labor Dynamics in the Cleaning Sector

Maria Helena Santos
, Núria Romão
, Carla Cerqueira

CICANT - Centre for Research in Applied Communication, Culture, and New Technologies

University Institute of Lisbon

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study focuses on cleaning services in Lisbon, Portugal, to understand the dynamics of operating in this feminine context, mostly employing women of African origin. From a qualitative and intersectional perspective, the study encompasses 17 semi-structured individual interviews with women working in these services, nine of African origin (Black) and eight of Portuguese origin (White) between 29 and 66 years of age. The thematic analysis returned five themes portraying the specificities associated with women carrying out their activities in a context of low social status, particularly for Black women. Although we verified some of the negative consequences associated with tokenism, the intersections of gender, class, and race/ethnicity generated dynamics that also contradict this phenomenon.

Original language	English
Article number	20
Journal	Social Sciences
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010020
Publication status	Published - Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.

Funding

This research was funded by the FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P., under the Transitory Norm—DL 57/2016/CP 1359/CT0023 provided to the first author.

Funders	Funder number
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia	1359/CT0023

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5 Gender Equality

Keywords

class
cleaning sector
ethnicity
gender
intersectionality
tokenism
women

Access to Document

10.3390/socsci12010020

Cite this

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abstract = "This study focuses on cleaning services in Lisbon, Portugal, to understand the dynamics of operating in this feminine context, mostly employing women of African origin. From a qualitative and intersectional perspective, the study encompasses 17 semi-structured individual interviews with women working in these services, nine of African origin (Black) and eight of Portuguese origin (White) between 29 and 66 years of age. The thematic analysis returned five themes portraying the specificities associated with women carrying out their activities in a context of low social status, particularly for Black women. Although we verified some of the negative consequences associated with tokenism, the intersections of gender, class, and race/ethnicity generated dynamics that also contradict this phenomenon.",

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AB - This study focuses on cleaning services in Lisbon, Portugal, to understand the dynamics of operating in this feminine context, mostly employing women of African origin. From a qualitative and intersectional perspective, the study encompasses 17 semi-structured individual interviews with women working in these services, nine of African origin (Black) and eight of Portuguese origin (White) between 29 and 66 years of age. The thematic analysis returned five themes portraying the specificities associated with women carrying out their activities in a context of low social status, particularly for Black women. Although we verified some of the negative consequences associated with tokenism, the intersections of gender, class, and race/ethnicity generated dynamics that also contradict this phenomenon.

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KW - intersectionality

KW - tokenism

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ER -

Gender, Class, and Ethnicity: Perspectives of White Portuguese and Black African Women on Labor Dynamics in the Cleaning Sector

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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