Telework and Women Workers in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of the Federal Judiciary in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: During the pandemic, the social roles of women were accentuated which were added and distributed in: worker, "housewife", mother and teacher. The objective of this study is to contextualize the social roles of women and the impact of telework, highlighting the case of those who worked at the Brazilian Federal Judiciary during the Covid-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: Thematic content analysis of open interviews during the pandemic. Eight women workers from different positions in a Judiciary Section participat-ed. Results: Three main themes are identified: work activity, life outside work, and work time. New tasks, a new way of managing work time and the need to estab-lish clear boundaries to ensure a balance between life at work and life out-side. What was already known is reiterated, women continue to do more hours of domestic tasks, and above all they are the ones who take care of the children. Conclusions: For women in telework, the two spaces - public and private - merged and become confused. Redesigning the temporalities of work and life in these workplaces needs to be accompanied by social level policies that ad-dress caregiving responsibilities and gender equality.