Brazil, Racial Democracy? The Plight of Afro-descendent Women in Political Spaces

Abstract

The social role of women in Brazil is subject to significant change in both capacity and scope. While women constitute the majority of the population in Brazil, they account for 40 per cent of the workforce, and thus, they remain comparatively invisible in public life. This is evident in political representation, as although Brazilian law stipulates that political parties must reserve at least 30 per cent of their nominations for women for legislative elections, this does not occur in reality. Furthermore, despite 29 spaces in Brazil À a country where politics is still predominantly white and male. Thus, despite a rhetorical position of an 'open country' with opportunities for all, the whiteness and masculinity of Brazilian politics illustrates the degree of mythology concerning the rhetoric of Brazil's racial democracy. We employ a qualitative research approach in this study and we employ an oral-history-informed post-structuralist approach. We focus our empirical analysis on in-depth interviews with an Afro-descendant female accounting professor who was elected to an important political position. We argue that discussions about democracy in Brazil go beyond formal aspects of civil rights, as our study highlights the necessity of reshaping political processes to engender greater female and Afro-descendent participation, to engender both groups to seek political careers as well as to encourage political parties to include more female and more Afro-descendent candidates. The ultimate goal of such institutional reform is a reformation of 'racial democracy' as Afro-descendent women interact with, stand and succeed in Brazilian elections.

(In)Equality regimes in auditing

“…Despite being the majority in number, the social indicators for black people are always worse when compared to white people (e. g. unemployment rate for white men, in 2009, was 5.3 percent, while for black men was 6.6 percent; for white women, 9.2 percent; and for black women, 12.5 percent). Such data reinforces the myth of racial democracy (Silva et al, 2016). The excerpts show how black people are socially marginalized in Brazil, which is reflected in the auditing firms.…”

“…Two of the excerpts presented discuss the hiring process and the requirements for that hiring processbeing alumni in a top university and speaking English -, which most black people do not have access to because of their social and financial conditions. The last excerpt resonates with the idea of the myth of racial democracy (Silva et al, 2016) and the importance of recognizing our privileges because "one privilege of the privileged is not to see their privilege" (Acker, 2006, p. 452). Such examples demonstrate how the intersection between race and class works, also helping to constitute and maintain the inequality regime that permeates auditing firms.…”

“…Despite the numerous studies presented before, only a few among them discuss Latin-American experiences, especially in the top journals. The Brazilian context is a propitious context for this study because even with more than half of the population being black, we still live the myth of racial democracy (Silva, Nova & Carter, 2016) in a very sexist, homophobic 1 , and violent country 2 . Thus, the professional relations and experiences of minority groups here may be different from experiences in the developed countries that previous studies focused on.…”

Regimes de (des)igualdade na auditoria

“…Apesar de ser a maioria em número, os indicadores sociais para negros são sempre piores quando comparados aos brancos (por exemplo, a taxa de desemprego para homens brancos, em 2009, era de 5,3%, enquanto para homens negros era de 6,6%; para mulheres brancas, 9,2% e para mulheres negras, 12,5%). Esses dados reforçam o mito da democracia racial (Silva et al, 2016 Os trechos mostram como os negros são socialmente marginalizados no Brasil, o que se reflete nas firmas de auditoria. Dois dos trechos apresentados discutem o processo de contratação e os requisitos para essa contratação -ser ex-aluno de uma universidade de ponta e falar inglês -, ao qual a maioria dos negros não tem acesso por causa de suas condições sociais e financeiras.…”

“…Outro ponto a ser observado é o fato de apesar dos numerosos estudos apresentados antes, apenas alguns deles discutem experiências latino-americanas, especialmente nas principais revistas. O contexto brasileiro é um contexto propício para este estudo, pois mesmo com mais da metade da população sendo negra, ainda vivemos o mito da democracia racial (Silva, Nova & Carter, 2016) em um país muito sexista, homofóbico 1 e violento 2 . Assim, as relações profissionais e as experiências de grupos minoritários aqui podem ser diferentes das experiências nos países desenvolvidos em que os estudos anteriores focaram.…”