Black women in Uruguay: ethnic differences.

Half of all employed black women in Uruguay work in domestic service. Among the remaining black women who work outside the home, the majority are employed in poorly-remunerated jobs requiring minimal skills. Very few black women achieve a college education. These statistics were gathered recently in the first study of this sector of the population. According to Chabela and Beatriz Ramirez, co-directors of the Organizacion Mundo Afro (OMA, Afro World Organization), a non-profit organization advocating for the rights of black women in Uruguay, this study draws attention to the fact that black women have special concerns arising from their origin along with implicit and explicit racism that they have suffered throughout history.

The Legacy of Gender

On November 9, 2003 the sounds of drums can be heard from the headquarters of OMA. The old woman and the sweep move forward in a dance reminiscent of carnival, a legacy of the parties permitted to slaves in the colonial era. The old woman fans herself while she gracefully sways her colorful skirts. Her partner moves his broom with rhythm and skill. The locale fills with music and celebration.

The gathered crowd push back their chairs to make more room for the dancers. A black woman with her hair in meticulous braids moves with flair. Others kiss and congratulate each other. The oldest ones remain seated, smiling and accepting the drinks being served. Several children--black and white--run about and play among the adults. Among the white participants, two women of impeccable dress and carefully-arranged blonde hair observe the spectacle with surprise.

Why the celebration? OMA, the Ministry of Housing, the State Environmental Agency and the Municipality of Montevideo have just signed the agreement establishing the UFAMA al Sur cooperative which will build 36 homes for black female heads of household, many of them adolescent women.

Beatriz Ramirez is co-director of OMA, head of the Afro-Uruguayan Woman's Program and a participant in the Afro-Uruguayan Women's Support Group. For this black woman leader, the signing of this agreement represents the State's recognition of the social barriers faced by black Uruguayan women, such as access to housing. "The fact that the State recognizes the black community as a sector that needs special support is an important achievement. It signifies recognition that some sectors like ours have been unable to insert themselves in society to the same extent as other citizens for historical and social reasons. It is an acknowledgement of the problem of racism and the fact that one sector was not included in the development of democracy in our country. It makes us visible to the Uruguayan State."

African descendants comprise approximately 6% of the total Uruguayan population-around 180,000 people--a small number when compared to countries like Brazil or the United States. But fewer numbers does not translate into fewer problems.

Ms. Ramirez emphasized that by signing this agreement the black community also acknowledges that black women's situation is even more precarious than that of black men. According to the co-director of OMA, "As historic pillars of their families and community, black women need to be supported and encouraged to devise solutions to our own problems because we are capable of realizing our own undertakings."

As the introduction to The Socioeconomic and Cultural Status of Black Uruguayan Women observes, "to ignore the presence of the black population, to fail to discuss its characteristics and social situation, can contribute to the reproduction of prejudice, discrimination and racism. "This document shares the results of a study undertaken by OMA and published in 2003, providing the only statistics in existence on the subject. Neither the Women's Institute, the Ministry of Education and Culture, or the Municipality of Montevideo work with statistics disaggregated by gender because they "do not discriminate against women."

Beatriz Ramirez views this homogenization as a denial that there are different customs, values and visions. OMA's co-director uses the example of the creation of agendas within feminist movements and points to the fact that black women's issues were not always considered. She explains that one of the most popular issues among Uruguayan feminists is the changes in Uruguayan families as women entering the labor market during the 1960s.

"Black women experienced these changes much earlier because the women in our families have been a part of the labor market since colonial times. This meant a much different role for black Uruguayan women. The idea that women were vulnerable creatures was not applied to black women. Black women worked very hard and even joined arms with Artigas. The famous lanceras were black female slaves who escaped to fight in the revolution. To a certain extent, black women are the ones who take responsibility and fight for the home and the family. We also have to put off our individual lives and desires but in ether ways. Gender construction for us is different."

While black Uruguayan women appear to be very strong, many suffer from low self-esteem. The issue of gender discrimination in the black community is "like a knot that must be untangled because the elements contradict one another, overlap and reinforce one another," explains Ms. Ramirez. "Men abuse women and take advantage of them to avoid responsibility precisely because women are so strong. So women assume responsibilities for which they receive no recognition. In this context, it is almost a cultural tradition for women to meet the needs of their children and provide for their homes but also to have this fact covered up by oppression or belittling of women heads-of-household."

Domestic Service

OMA's study on the socioeconomic and cultural status of black women was based on a survey of one thousand of the 83,500 black women age 14 and over living in Uruguay. According to this study, a greater proportion of black women work outside the home than among the overall female population. This occurs in all age ranges but especially among the younger age groups.

Fully 89.6% of black Uruguayan women work in the service sector, half of them in domestic service. The majority receive low wages.

The study also reveals that those working in industry are concentrated in the traditional areas of manufacturing, characterized by intensive, unskilled labor.

Only 0.5% of black women have higher education or employment in management positions; 60% of those are professionals and technicians, and rest are unemployed or have jobs for which they are overqualified.

The study found that seven out of ten black employed women work in domestic service and that the rest work in jobs of low social prestige and that do not permit the accumulation of knowledge or skills that would lead to job advancement or an alternative occupation.

Young black women enter the job market early. They often accompany their mothers in domestic service jobs and help them. They start by first cleaning objects, then furniture and eventually entire rooms. They continue to learn the trade while going to primary school, and they often drop out of secondary school because they find full-time positions in this area.

The study concludes that, for the vast majority of black women, "the choice of entering the job market is a survival strategy."

The results of the study point to "a close relationship between forms of material discrimination (quality of jobs, access to education) and cultural discrimination (exclusion, segregation, violence against women)." Thirty-five percent of the women surveyed indicated that they have felt discriminated against because they were black: 40% of these stated that they had endured "verbal aggressions or insults." Sexual harassment, sexual violence or physical abuse and beatings were less frequent.

Racism in Uruguay

Beatriz Ramirez stresses that black women in domestic service suffer greatly from racism because of "the idea that domestic servants are the property of the family and that they can not make their own decisions."

Chabela Ramirez, Beatriz's sister, divides her time between coordinating of the UFAMA Housing Cooperative and domestic work. The co-director points out that black women pride themselves on their vocation of service, "being good, appreciative, loyal and obedient to the families for whom we work, to our husbands, our children, to everyone." In her case, she explained, it is "a constant struggle. My employers know that they cannot talk negatively of my ethnicity because I will always respond. Sometimes they tell me, 'Oh, but there is not so much racism as compared to other countries.' And I tell them: 'Put yourselves in my skin for five minutes, and then we can talk.'"

The SOS Racism service of OMA often receives complaints from domestic workers about their employers. "One young domestic worker was accused of stealing from her employers, and the woman threatened to report her to the police. She told the girl that she would have to work for free for a long time or go to jail. The girl's parents supported her and managed to resolve the situation."

Chabela commented that black domestic workers "used to put up with more" to save their jobs to guarantee they would be able to support their families. But now very few women remain silent in the face of such abuse.

A survey carried out last year by the newspaper El Pals revealed that a quarter of Uruguayans believe that there is significant or a great deal of racism against blacks. These people believe that blacks have fewer job opportunities and receive lower wages for equal work and that fewer blacks are in management and high-level positions.

Nonetheless, the majority--three out of four people--believe that there is little or no racism against blacks in Uruguay. Those surveyed believe that there are contexts where racism is extremely alarming--such as the United States or France. Compared to these situations,

Uruguay's problems with racism appear minimal.

Beatriz Ramirez believes that those surveyed responded in this way because the forms of racism are more subtle in Uruguay. Her sister Chabela disagrees: "There is a lot of talk about the subtleness of discrimination, but in reality I think it is manifested on a massive scale by denying an entire community the possibilities of cultural, social and economic advancement based on the simple fact of their skin color."

The sisters did agree about the denial of one's own race in which black women participate. "If people systematically tell you that your language is dialect, your religion is sorcery, your music is noise, that to be black is associated with being dirty, that you should be ashamed of your African features--all of this effects you, and you pass it along," insists Beatriz. For Chabela, the fashion of straight hair among black women is an example of this self-denial. She asserts that black women are treated differently in their place of work or study when they wears braids or short hair.

Beatriz Ramirez concluded that pockets of racism do exist but that fortunately there is growing social awareness throughout the country that there is a sector that has been marginalized. "Uruguayans take great pride in the country's democracy, and so our work is grounded in a context ripe for change."

The author has a degree in journalism from Universidad ORT in Uruguay. This article was originally published on the website http://www.discriminacion.org.