Care work and Covid-19: Changes in the daily mobility of women in Santiago, Chile.

ABSTRACT

Since 2020, the world has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, causing significant changes in cities, affecting the daily mobility of people, and exacerbating inequalities, particularly for women. Confinement has deepened gender inequality in different dimensions and contexts, whereby many women, as part of their reproductive roles, have assumed more care and domestic work in various spaces, especially at home and in their neighborhoods. This article analyzes the impact of the pandemic on the daily mobility of women linked to their care work in the San Cristóbal neighborhood of Recoleta in Santiago, Chile. With this aim, online in-depth interviews and exploratory maps were conducted with women who perform care work, comparing their work and daily mobility before and during the pandemic. The results show that since the pandemic began, the gender inequality experienced by women has increased, as reflected in their daily activities, particularly in relation to the increase in domestic work and care work. Likewise, a change is observed in the daily mobility of women who perform care work, as they have focused more on walking and movement within their own neighborhoods to cover basic needs. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Desde el año 2020 el mundo vive en un contexto de pandemia debido a la covid-19, lo cual ha significado cambios drásticos en las ciudades y en la movilidad cotidiana de las personas y ha agudizado las desigualdades, en particular para las mujeres. El confinamiento profundizó la desigualdad de género en diferentes dimensiones y contextos, pues muchas mujeres han debido asumir, como parte de su rol reproductivo, una carga mayor de labores de cuidado y tareas domésticas en distintos entornos, sobre todo en el hogar y en el barrio. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el impacto de la pandemia en la movilidad cotidiana ligada a las labores de cuidado de mujeres del barrio San Cristóbal en Recoleta, Santiago, Chile. Con este fin se realizaron mapas exploratorios virtuales y entrevistas semiestructuradas a mujeres que realizan labores de cuidado, comparando dichas labores y la movilidad cotidiana antes y durante la pandemia. Los resultados muestran que desde el confinamiento pandémico se ha acrecentado la desigualdad de género que viven las mujeres, reflejada en sus actividades cotidianas, particularmente en relación con el aumento del trabajo doméstico y las labores de cuidado. Asimismo, se observa un cambio en la movilidad cotidiana de las mujeres cuidadoras, centrada más en la caminata y ubicada en el entorno barrial a fin de cubrir sus necesidades básicas. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Íconos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales is the property of FLACSO Ecuador (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)