Work-parenthood conflicts at the operator and professional levels in Chile’s mining industry: a gender analysis

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to determine, from a gender and class perspective, how mothers who work in mining operations experience the tensions associated with motherhood in comparison with father workers, within the context of the work-family relationship in an industry with shift systems. A qualitative methodology was used to interpret perceived difficulties and strategies for dealing with maternity/paternity and work conflicts. Results show that mother workers perceive that the maternal role is socially ignored; that they have great difficulties in exercising their maternity, that their main subjective problems are frustration, anxiety, and guilt; that conflicts are less acute for female supervisors, associated with their class status, the support of paid domestic workers, and the dedication of time to individual hobbies; and that strategies for dealing with conflicts are palliative. We conclude that a perception of ‘privatization of the work-motherhood balance’ predominates, with mother workers taking responsibility for their self-integration, which they deem to be a personal rather than a social problem. All interviewees adopt a position of ‘gender neutrality’. Paradoxically, women do not prioritize demanding differential measures for working mothers, although they perceive that their motherhood is socially judged by the sexist culture of their work environment.