Abstract
In this review article, we argue that the transformations related to the modernisation of Portuguese society triggered by the implementation of democracy did not fully accommodate gender equality. In particular, when we consider the areas where the most progress has been made in keeping with a broadly shared urge for modernisation, education and science; whereas women have contributed to boosting the Portuguese population’s level of education, thus inverting the worst legacy of the dictatorship and developing scientific research, gender inequalities are still visible in highly qualified professions. Reviewing the results of studies from different professions, science, medicine and engineering, our analysis illustrates several factors that hinder not only the recognition of women’s competences and merit at work but also their career opportunities. Some of these factors are rooted in the type of gender ideology that was central to the propaganda of the dictatorship, thereby establishing continuity with the previous regime that seems particularly difficult to break in the absence of women’s voices to raise awareness on gender equality.
Highlights
Cardoso Torres and Fátima Maria deIn the 20th century, Portugal experienced a long period of cultural backwardness, political repression and economic underdevelopment under a dictatorship, which lasted from 1926 to 1974
Considering that modernisation processes occur at different paces in different domains of life in society, we argue in this article that the ideology on equality between women and men lagged behind other social changes that occurred in the transition to democracy
Roles survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) returned significant differences between the time Portuguese women and men spent per week on household work with the former working more hours than the latter (Amâncio 2007)
Summary
In the 20th century, Portugal experienced a long period of cultural backwardness, political repression and economic underdevelopment under a dictatorship, which lasted from 1926 to 1974. Considering that modernisation processes occur at different paces in different domains of life in society, we argue in this article that the ideology on equality between women and men lagged behind other social changes that occurred in the transition to democracy. The improvements in education by the democratic regime did not close the gender gap in illiteracy given that thirty years later the rate of illiterate women (21%) was still twice as high as that of men (11%) The high activity rate of women, independent of their family status or number of children, remains a characteristic of Portuguese society, it does not amount to evidence of equality between women and men. Twenty-five years later, CITE commissioned a national survey on moral and sexual harassment with a representative sample of working men and women (Torres et al 2016). Sexual harassment is still perceived as a relational problem rather than a manifestation of asymmetrical power
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