“This Is a Job for Women, Isn’t It?”: The Evolution of a Traditional Gendered Occupational Segmentation in a Portuguese Industrial Cluster

Abstract

Cork industry is most expressive in Portugal. However, within the sector, the activity is very differentiated, either when it is looked at from a gender perspective or from the point of view of its automation-driven evolution. The cork stoppers are manufactured by men, whereas their selection is performed by women. Our study presents findings based on fieldwork carried out in two Portuguese cork processing companies. While the limitations of automation in avoiding the waste of cork have perpetuated up to now the use of manual drills by men, the working methods in the selection activity performed exclusively by women are being reconfigured due to automation. The recent introduction of new automated machines is built upon the female workers’ experience, requiring from them new “uses of oneself”. With these changes, some risks remain barely visible, and their impacts on health are still unrecognized, despite the importance of these work practices in the “revaluation” of a unique industrial territory.