The informality that persists: domestic work and raciality in the post-pandemic period

Abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze, in the light of the intersectional perspective, the informality of domestic work in Brazil, especially in the post-pandemic period. This time, the deductive method was used, using bibliographic research and information provided by research institutes on the effects of the pandemic on the lives of black women. As is known, domestic work has a certain relationship of continuity with the activities carried out by enslaved women in the private environment, so that nowadays the universe of domestic workers in Brazil is mostly made up of black women. The study draws attention to the issue of the informality of domestic work that was already a reality even before the pandemic, but which was aggravated due to this health crisis, so that in the post-pandemic context, there is even a difficulty for these workers to return to the market, which puts them in a situation of serious vulnerability. In this context, it is essential to understand the effects of this informality on this labor activity and it is concluded that the pandemic can be a serious opportunity to reflect on the need for profound changes in social structures, which historically engender and legitimize the inequalities of gender and race that greatly affect the lives of racialized women, as was clear in the pandemic context.