Free to Choose? The Gendered Impacts of Flexible Working Hours in Brazil

Abstract

This article examines the effects of the flexibilization of working time in terms of gender segmentation in the labor market. It proposes and analyzes eight categories of women’s participation in the labor market and the effects of flexibilization on each of them. By using household survey data and case studies, the research shows that some forms of flexibilization reinforce the sexual division of labor, for example, low pay for precarious, part-time home-based work, and low social status that perpetuate caregiving roles for women in the private realm. Concurrently, forms of flexibilization associated with better pay do not consider the existing sexual division of labor, in that they demand women’s total availability for work, thus impacting their careers and lives negatively. JEL Classification: J01, J16, D63