Mulher de negócios: as demandas conflitantes vivenciadas por empreendedoras de Sant’ana do Livramento/RS

Abstract

The contemporary woman plays numerous and distinct roles, thus needing to reconcile professional, family and personal activities. Therefore, in front of these spheres, conflicting demands emerge in their lives. In this sense, the general objective of this research was to analyze the conflicting demands experienced by entrepreneurs from Sant'Ana do Livramento/RS with regard to the professional, family and personal spheres and the strategies used to face them. More specifically, we sought to: a) analyze the main conflicts between professional and family demands experienced by female entrepreneurs; b) verify the main conflicts between professional and social life experienced by female entrepreneurs; and c) identify the strategies used by the entrepreneurs to face and/or make compatible the professional, family and personal demands. Therefore, a narrative study of exploratory character and qualitative approach was developed in which six semi-structured interviews and a discussion group were carried out with seven entrepreneurs from different sectors of Sant'Ana do Livramento/RS. As main results, it is highlighted that female entrepreneurs have difficulties in separating the professional and family spheres; they have a feeling of guilt regarding the care of their children; have difficulty establishing schedules for self-care; they are placed as the last option in the degree of priority; how coping strategies use support networks, delegation, self-organization of time; experienced family and social judgments regarding career, children and domestic activities; have difficulty managing their employees; and experience a dilemma related to professional life and exposure on social networks.