Trabalho, gênero e educação: enredos de resistências das mulheres da matemática

Abstract

This research looked at how gender and labor relations, in the perspective of Marxian theory, affected the construction of education and the history of women in mathematics. A historical overview of women who have made contributions to mathematics was carried out, followed by a theoretical discussion that sought to conceptualize work according to Lessa, Tonet (2004) and Lukács (2010), as well as social gender relations and the sexual division of labor based on Leacok (2019), Beauvouir (2016), Hirata (2010), Gil (2023), Freitas (2007), Teixeira (2020) and Federici (2021). The research analyzed data on the presence of women in scientific doctorates in the exact sciences in Brazil, their inclusion in the formal labor market, unemployment and, finally, the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on women's work, with a special focus on scientific production. A theoreticalhistorical picture of women's education in Brazil was drawn up based on Safiotti (1975), Fernandes (2006) and De Almeida (1998). The final chapter presents a summary of the path of twentytwo women in mathematics. The data on women's work and the participation of women in mathematics in Brazil, together with the historical context, reveals that society has made mathematics a predominantly male field. The challenges faced by women who have dedicated themselves to mathematics reveal that these obstacles are not natural, but the result of a social system that restricts women's access, either by overwhelming them with domestic tasks or by establishing an environment that is hostile to them in their academic life.