Women In Portugal Research Articles

The impact of the crisis and austerity on low educated working women: The cases of Spain and Portugal

This article investigates the impact of the recent economic crisis and associated austerity agenda on working low educated women in Portugal and Spain. It draws firstly on a comparative analysis of Eurostat Labour Force Survey data, recent reform to the labour market and care policy; secondly, on qualitative research exploring changes in low educated women's employment, family arrangements and values. The findings reveal that in both countries low educated women maintained their labour market attachment but faced increased risks of labour market exclusion, precarity and low pay. However, the weight of women's household income contributions increased in the context of male unemployment and earnings insecurity, which reinforced women's work attachment. Moreover, employment appeared critical to women's identity and associated with egalitarian values. Despite greater protection of equality policies and welfare support for dual‐earner families in Portugal, the evidence suggests a negative impact of austerity on work–family reconciliation opportunities for low educated women in both countries.

CORPO-COLÔNIA: UM ESTUDO PRELIMINAR SOBRE A REPRESENTAÇÃO DAS MULHERES NEGRAS AFRICANAS DURANTE A GUERRA COLONIAL A PARTIR DA “QUE SE PASSA NA FRENTE” DE AUGUSTO CID

O trabalho apresenta-se como um estudo preliminar sobre a representação das mulheres negras em Portugal durante os anos da guerra colonial (1961-1975). Seguindo as sugestões dos actuais movimentos globais das mulheres (Ni una menos, Women's March, Non una di Meno…) o artigo quer investigar a dupla hirarquização sofrida das mulheres negras e ao mesmo tempo analisar como e se as resistências contra o fascismo e o colonialismo português influíram nas representações. As imagens das mulheres negras em Portugal ao longo do século revelam corpos sexualizados, objectos à disposição dos colonizadores. Porém, centrando a reflexão na a Banda Desenhada, é preciso lembrar com Luís Cunha (1995) como a representação dos homens negros na BD mudou ao longo do século e sobretudo durante a guerra colonial. O artigo analisa os desenhos de Augusto Cid publicados em Que se passa na frente (1973), no intento de verificar se a guerra e as resistências levaram algumas mudanças na representação das mulheres feitas pelos colonizadores. Estas análises permitem reflectir sobre como os estereótipos racistas e sexistas mudaram nos últimos anos no regime fascista português, construindo as bases para interrogar a sociedade do pós-25 de Abril e ver assim se os rastos destas violências chegam até hoje.

What are the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation?

This study seeks to identify the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and exploring what possible relationships that may exist between them. The research focuses on women entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in a quantitative perspective whose methodology consisted of the collection of primary data through a survey distributed to women in Portugal. After structural equation modelling was applied, the results suggested that recognition of opportunities influences EO. This influence is expressed both directly and indirectly through training in management and entrepreneurial skills. These findings led to the conclusion that policies promoting training for community members, in general, need to be rethought and policies need to emphasise training in management that enhances entrepreneurial skills, thereby increasing the proliferation of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education and training should be promoted from basic education onwards in order to develop entrepreneurial skills from an early age. Prior to this study, the relationships between opportunity recognition, management training and entrepreneurial skills have never been studied in relation to women.

CONSUMO DE BEBIDAS ALCOÓLICAS DURANTE A GRAVIDEZ

Abstract.CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING PREGNANCYIntroduction: The consumption of alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is highly detrimental to the mothers’ health as well as to the health of the fetus. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy leads us to question the quality of health care. The objectives of this study are to quantify the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by Portuguese and immigrant women in Portugal and to analyze the information conveyed during pregnancy surveillance visits.Methods: A cross-sectional study, partially analyzed as a control case, involved 753 immigrant mothers between the ages of 16 and 45 (29,30 ± 5,76) and 1654 Portuguese women aged 15-44 (29,99 ± 5, 42). Data collection resorted to self-administered questionnaires in 32 Portuguese maternity wards/ hospitals, from January 2010 to December 2011. Alcohol consumption was defined as the intake of any amount of alcohol during pregnancy. Prevalence was expressed in proportions and the association scale between odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals was determined.Results: Nine out of ten pregnant women did not ingest any alcohol. Among those who ingested it, the highest percentage occurred among immigrants (12.0% vs 6.6%) with statistical significance (OR 0.52, CI 95% 0.37-0.7, x2 = 19.617, p <0.001). As to the frequency of consumption, 57.8% of the Portuguese women and 71.1% of the immigrants (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.26-0.52) consumed a few times. Regarding the quality of information on alcohol consumption, 39.2% of the Portuguese considered it good and 34.9% of the immigrants, reasonable.Conclusion: Migrant women consume more alcoholic beverages during pregnancy than Portuguese ones. The prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by immigrants and Portuguese suggests inadequate antenatal care.Keywords: Alcohol; pregnancy; Nurse, health educationResumo.Introdução: O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas durante a gravidez é altamente prejudicial à saúde da mãe bem como à saúde do feto. O consumo de álcool durante a gravidez leva-nos a questionar a qualidade dos cuidados de saúde. Os objetivos deste estudo foram quantificar a prevalência do consumo de bebidas alcoólicas durante a gravidez por mulheres portuguesas e imigrantes em Portugal e analisar a informação veiculada nas consultas de vigilância de gravidez.Métodos: Estudo transversal, parcialmente analisado como caso controlo, envolveu 753 mães imigrantes com idades entre os 16 e os 45 anos (29,30±5,76) e 1654 portuguesas com idades entre os 15 e os 44 anos (29,99±5,42). Recolha de dados por questionário autopreenchido, em 32 maternidades/ hospitais portugueses, de janeiro de 2010 a dezembro de 2011. Considerou-se consumo de bebidas alcoólicas a ingestão de qualquer quantidade de álcool durante a gravidez. As prevalencias foram expressas em proporções e determinou-se ainda a magnitude de associação entre as variáveis com recurso aos Odds Ratio (OR) e respetivos intervalos de confiança a 95%.Resultados: Cerca de 9 em cada 10 das grávidas não ingeriu bebidas alcoólicas, mas entre as que ingeriram, a maior percentagem ocorreu entre as imigrantes (12,0% vs 6,6%) com significância estatística (OR 0,52; IC95% 0,37-0,7; x2=19,617; p<0,001). Quanto à frequência do consumo, consumiram algumas vezes 57,8% das portuguesas e 71,1% das imigrantes (OR 0,37; IC95% 0,26-0,52). Quanto à qualidade de informação sobre o consumo de álcool 39,2% das portuguesas considerou- a boa e 34,9% das imigrantes, razoável.Conclusão: As imigrantes consomem mais bebidas alcoólicas durante a gravidez que as portuguesas. A prevalência de qualquer consumo de álcool durante a gravidez por imigrantes e portuguesas sugere cuidados pré-natais inadequados.Palavras Chave: álcool; gravidez; enfermeiro, educação para a saúde

Yes, we fuck! Challenging the misfit sexual body through disabled women’s narratives

Southern European society has been described in sociological literature as ableist, patriarchal and male-oriented. Under such conditions, many disabled women face multiple oppressions on grounds of gender, disability, class, age, sexual orientation, ‘race’ and ethnicity. The social construction of the impaired body as passive and dependent is conducive to a process of desexualization, presenting disabled people as inadequate for a full intimate life. The dominant biomedical model reinforces this process. This article draws on selected works in feminist disability studies to argue that rather than a body which is unfit, or does not fit, the ‘misfit’ is instead a cultural failure in accommodating and cherishing diversity. The authors also suggest that the desexualization of disabled women is replicating, as well as resulting from, historical tendencies to dehumanize and infantilize women. The empirical data is drawn from a larger project ‘Disabled Intimacies? Sexual and Reproductive Citizenship of Disabled Women in Portugal’. Biographical narrative interviews with disabled women are analyzed to explore the notion of ‘misfit’ sexual bodies. Theirs are stories of counter-norms and the struggle for sexual fulfilment and recognition. The women’s discussions of sexuality point to a need to change the ways that disability and intimacy are addressed in mainstream scholarly literature, institutions and the state. Narrow, heteronormative and ableist understandings of sexual intercourse and the linear character of mainstream stories of intimacy are shown as hindering the prospect of the recognition of disabled women as sexual citizens.

Prevalence of physical and mental non-communicable diseases in Europe: findings from the European Social Survey (2014) special module on the social determinants of health.

Previous studies examining physical and mental non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe have so far largely either focused on limited numbers of countries or on fairly limited ranges of NCDs, with mental health in particular often being ignored. This article has three aims: (i) To provide a recent, comprehensive overview of a broad range of NCDs across a range of countries in all European regions; (ii) To give an overview of measures of physical and mental health in the new special rotating module in the European Social Survey (ESS); and (iii) To offer the first comprehensive comparison of estimates on physical and mental NCDs across European countries in this new promising data source. We use data from the 7th wave of the ESS. Results are presented separately for men and women. All results were age-standardized by weighting up or down the unstandardized (crude) prevalence rates for 5-year age groups in each country to a common standard. We present pooled estimates for the combined cross-national sample as well as country-specific results. Overall, 74.1% of men and 79.7% of women reported at least one physical NCD. Across the 21 countries were observed that these percentages varied between 45.2% (for men in Hungary) and 91.6% (women in Finland). Serious depressive symptoms were reported by 10.2% of men and 18.8% of women, with percentages ranging between 6.2% (men in Ireland) and 30.9% (women in Portugal). A substantial share of Europeans experience the burden of NCDs, and the extent to which people report these conditions varies across countries. However, all physical and mental NCDs in this rotating module are reported by considerable percentages in each of the 21 country samples, which emphasizes that these conditions are not marginal phenomena but public health concerns.

Politicy of care in the criticism towards gender stereotypes.

analyze gender inequalities among Brazilian women in Portugal and in contemporary nursing based on care politicity in the light of gender; disclose oppression of the female produced by the stereotypes that look upon women as natural caregivers; point out politicity to deconstruct gender stereotypes. theoretical reflection with narrative review of literature to analyze classic references in the feminist epistemology combined with the care politicity thesis. the similarities between the stereotypes of the Brazilian Eves and the Portuguese Maries as either the sexualized or sanctified nurse are inserted in the Jewish-Christian moral genealogy that reaffirms the subservience of the female to the male. by attaching priority to care that needs non-care to expand the possibilities of care giving, the theoretical assumption of politicy of care can contribute to subvert the stereotypical images of Brazilian women in Portuguese lands and in contemporary nursing.

Regional variation in coronary heart disease mortality trends in Portugal, 1981–2012

BackgroundInformation is scarce about the geographic variation in time trends of mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD). We aimed to describe trends in death rates, absolute number of deaths and years of life lost (YLL) due to CHD among men and women in Portugal, by region, from 1981 to 2012. MethodsThe age-standardized mortality rates from CHD were estimated by sex and region. We used joinpoint regression analysis to calculate the annual percent change (APC) in mortality and to identify points of significant change in the trend. The YLL due to premature mortality for CHD were computed using the Global Burden of Disease method. ResultsThe age-adjusted mortality from CHD decreased between 1981 and 2012, both in men and women, but with significantly different APC by region. Smaller declines in rates were observed in Alentejo (men: APC 1993–2012: −2.4%; women: APC 1991–2012: −2.4%). The greatest decline was observed in Madeira between 2003 and 2012, in men (APC: −7.6%) and women (APC: −9.7%). The decline in rates in Algarve started only after 2003, whereas it was consistent from 1981 in the North and started in the 1990s in most other regions. A decrease in the number of deaths was only observed after 2000. The YLL from CHD decreased from 1981 to 2012, mainly after 2000. ConclusionsIn Portugal, between 1981 and 2012, relative declines of CHD mortality indicators were different by geographic region. Consistent decreases in mortality rates were only observed in the Centre, Lisbon and North, the most populated and urbanized regions.

Marriage and gender inequality: work–family arrangements of Portuguese and British highly qualified women

This article examines work–family reconciliation processes in order to understand if, over the course of marital life, women become socially closer or further away from their partner. Drawing on work–life interviews with highly qualified women in Portugal and Britain, we compare these processes in two societies with different historical and social backgrounds. Findings reveal three main configurations of social (in)equality which emerge during married life: growing inequality in favour of the man, in favour of the woman or equality between spouses. With due attention to the importance of national specific factors, we present three main conclusions. First, (in) equality is built up over the course of marital life and female strategies for reconciling family and work are at the core of this process. Second, the national specificities can mould the effects of cross-national gender mechanisms. Third, the intersection between cross-cultural phenomena such as conservative attitudes towards domestic work and national specificities (such as the availability of part-time options) is a rather complex process which needs further research.

Citizens’ attitudes towards descriptive representation: The case of women in Portugal

Although the gender composition of assemblies is slowly changing in order to include more women, very little is known about citizens’ attitudes towards women’s descriptive representation. Using data from a representative sample of the Portuguese population, this article aims to offer an explanation of citizens’ attitudes towards women in parliament. It demonstrates that the Portuguese population is willing to see the presence of women in political power increase, but only up to a certain point: although most people support an increase in the number of female MPs, only a minority wish a substantial increase. This article makes a valuable contribution to the literature by demonstrating that, more than party identification or gender stereotypes, issues surrounding concerns with women’s interests and with the quality of democracy are strongly related to a desire for a gender equilibrated political environment.

The changing role of women in Portugal

The changing role of women in Portugal

Health care to immigrant and Portuguese pregnant women in Portugal.

This study aimed to assess the care received and the barriers faced by immigrants and Portuguese pregnant women in Portugal. This is an exploratory qualitative study, resorting to applying semi-structured interviews to 60 immigrant and 22 Portuguese women. Content analysis supported by QSR Nvivo10 program was used. The study was approved by an Ethics Committee. The results showed four categories related to affective dimensions-relational, cognitive, technical-instrumental and health care policy for pregnant women. As for the barriers in health care, these were mentioned by some of the expectant mothers, especially immigrant women. Almost all, both immigrant and Portuguese, pregnant women were satisfied with the health care.

Pregnancy and childbirth: What changes in the lifestyle of women who become mothers?

Pregnancy is a period influenced by the interaction of several factors, therefore this study aimed to identify changes in lifestyles due to pregnancy and childbirth in Portuguese and immigrant women in Portugal. This is a qualitative study, using the semi-structured interview, with eighty-two Portuguese and immigrant women. Content analysis was used, with verbatim classification supported by Nvivo 10. It was authorized by an Ethics Commission. Results revealed that the primary changes in lifestyles due to pregnancy were in eating habits (nutrition), daily activity, exposure to danger, sleep and rest patterns, social and family relationships, going out, self-care, work, clothing and footwear, travel, health monitoring and sexual activity and substances consumption. The main change after the birth, manifested by these women, was that their lives began to revolve around their baby.

Experiences of Being a Mother: Meanings of Childbirth, Pain and Birth

As experiências do parto e nascença moldam profundamente as vidas de mulheres, casais e famílias. O objeto deste estudo é entender os sentidos atribuídos ao parto e nascença, das mulheres portuguesas e imigrantes no Portugal, e a identificação dos sentidos e sentimentos vivenciados pelas mulheres que se tornaram mães. É um estudo qualitativo, recorrendo às entrevistas semiestruturadas e analises de conteúdo, sendo estes para 30 mulheres imigrantes e 22 portuguesas, suportado pelo Nvivo10. Os resultados indicam que o sentido do parto, as dores do parto e a nascença são diversos e ambivalentes, de acordo com as experiências de cada mulher. As dores do parto presentam sentidos diferentes, sendo eles divididos entre necessários ou horríveis, mas recompensadores...Palavras-Chave: Experiências; Parto; Dor; Nascença.

Dez anos depois de Bragança, a representação da mulher brasileira nos media

This article intends to analyze some representations of Brazilian women in Portugal, using an empirical body constituted in diff erent moments: by news published by Time magazine; Visao magazine; TVI Journal (Independent Television) and by several pieces relating some cases that occurred more recently. We analyze the complex process of discursive stereotyping of women and recurrent xenophobia during the period in which Portugal, based on the stimulus provided by EU funds, is constituted as host country of immigrants att racted by economic development. One compares the media representation of Brazilian women verifi ed in 2003 with representations performed during similar events, ten years after, in 2013. Keywords: discourse analysis, representations, identities, Brazilian women.

Awareness of listeriosis among Portuguese pregnant women

In pregnant women listeriosis may cause abortion, foetal death or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicaemia and meningitis. Improved education concerning the disease, its transmission and prevention measures have been identified as a pressing need. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food safety knowledge and practices among pregnant women in Portugal, giving particular relevance to listeriosis. For this purpose, a written questionnaire was constructed and answered by 956 women. Half of the respondents considered they had received a sufficient amount of information on food safety during pregnancy. This information was mainly provided from their doctors, who were considered the most competent to give this information. Although 32.3% of women interviewed had not changed their habits of preparation and cooking foods after becoming pregnant, the greater the amount of information received the more effective the change of habits was. A significant number of women avoided the consumption of foods considered to be high risk, however, for 32.0% of these women these foods were only avoided in meals taken outside home. The amount of information received influenced the foods avoided. Only 12.2% of the women interviewed had heard about listeriosis and, 47.0% of these did not know about the problems it can cause. Women who have had three or more pregnancies were those that most frequently reported not having received information or having received little information. These women also demonstrated less knowledge about listeriosis. The larger number of pregnancies corresponded with less economic resources and less education of the respondents. Women showed plenty of interest in receiving information about listeriosis; doctors and written information in flyers or in the Pregnancy bulletin provided by the State Medical Service were the main sources of information referred. It appears that planning is required, to raise awareness amongst health professionals of the need for food safety education for pregnant women.

Migration and maternal health: experiences of brazilian women in Portugal

OBJECTIVES: to characterize maternal and neonatal healthcare provided to Brazilian population, assessing key factors: access, use and quality of care received during this period. The goal was to assess possible differences regarding women's perceptions regarding the quality and appropriateness of care received, providing qualitative information, as part of a holistic perspective. METHODS: the present study adopted a qualitative methodology (semi-structured interviews) for collecting and analyzing data. Possible differences in women's perceptions regarding the quality and appropriateness of care received were assessed, providing qualitative information, as part of a holistic perspective. The present study was based on privileged information obtained from Brazilian women, residing in the metropolitan area of Porto, regardless of their legal status. RESULTS: a certain dissatisfaction emerged among Brazilian women regarding the quality of information provided by health professionals, the communications skills of these professionals, in addition to a perception of reduced access to medical specialties, especially in primary care. Misinformation about legal rights and inappropriate clarification during medical appointments were frequently reported and interacted with social determinants to result in poorer medical care. CONCLUSIONS: special attention should be given to the specific needs and understanding of immigrants during pregnancy and motherhood in order to improve healthcare. New challenges tend to lie not only in ensuring access, but mostly in promoting equity, as away of providing high-quality care for all.

O imaginário social <Mulher Brasileira> em Portugal: uma análise da construção de saberes, das relações de poder e dos modos de subjetivação

This article analyses in the social imaginary in Portugal through the Foucaultian analytical triad knowledge-power-subjectivation, combined with feminist and de-colonial perspectives. The article begins with a retrospective genealogy of media and touristic discourses, based on interviews and documents, in order to unveil the knowledge-power discursive order in the image of . The second part analyzes subjectivations of Brazilian immigrant women in Portugal, drawing on interviews and participant observation, to unveil situations of prejudice and discrimination and shed light on how the women confront the discursive order by resisting and re-existing as subjects. According to the conclusions, Brazilian women are seen as a body to the extent that they are defined, essentialized, and stigmatized through characteristics attributed to them ever since the historical colonial period and related to hypersexuality. Three modes of subjectivation are identified by which these women resist stigma and re-exist: passive, affirmative, and combative resistance.

Fatal intimate partner violence against women in Portugal: A forensic medical national study

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important cause of women's health and socio-familial severe problems, the most extreme being the victims' homicide. This is the first nationwide Portuguese autopsy-based and judicial-proven study about female intimate partner homicide.At least 62 women over 15 years old were killed by current or former men-intimate partners, corresponding to an IPV-related female mortality rate of 0.44/100.000 women; intimate partner violence was the reason of homicide in 60.8% of all autopsied women.The typical Portuguese victim showed to be a young adult woman, employed, killed by a current husband in a long-term relationship, usually with children in common and with a history of previous IPV. The typical Portuguese perpetrator showed to be older than the victim, employed, owning a firearm and without criminal records. At the time of the fatal event 59.7% of the relationships were current. In 57.9% of the former relationships women were killed during the 1st year after its terminus. Near half of the perpetrators attempted or committed suicide afterward. Most women were killed by gunshot wounds (45.2%), especially in the thorax (48.4%), with multiple fatal injuries; 56.5% also presented non-fatal injuries.The detection of prior IPV and the risk evaluation seems to be fundamental to decrease these fatal outcomes, but also, the prevention of perpetrators' alcohol abuse and carrying weapons. This work emphasizes the need to deepen the research on this issue, aiming to contribute to prevent both fatal and non-fatal IPV-related cases.

Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy among pregnant women in Portugal

Background Many new mothers discontinue breastfeeding prematurely. Researchers have shown that maternal confidence is an important factor in the continuation of breastfeeding. Objectives: This study aimed at performing a validation of the prenatal Portuguese version of the Breastfeeding Self-efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) and at assessing breastfeeding self-efficacy among pregnant women in Portugal. Methods 144 pregnant women at the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were recruited at two antenatal obstetric units in northern Portugal. The prenatal …