In El Tropical, we conducted several free and structured interviews with Afro women from January to April 2016, in order to know their perceptions related to the types of work they can perform according to their skin color. The latter is appreciated by them as a negative and limiting factor for possible employment. After applying these methods, we found that of 70 women surveyed and interviewed, 45 were black and 25 mestizas, distributed among the age groups of 15 to 20 years( 10), 21 to 30( 24), 31 to 40( 14), 41 to 50( 4), 51 to 60( 3) and older than 61( 15).
They stated that Afro women have almost no opportunities to be employed as business managers or in the tourism sector. To the question about who has better chance for being employed in such positions, 57( 81.42 %) responded that white women; 10( 14 %), that mestizas; and only 3( 4.2 %) that black women. About jobs like kitchen help, auxiliary staff for cleaning and street vendor, 54( 77 %) said that the black women are usually engaged in these occupations; 14( 24 %) said that mestizas and 2( 2.8 %) said that white women.
For us, knowing their perception has utmost importance, since the powers that be are insisting in the same structured discourse about total absence of racial discrimination and inequality. The term poverty itself has had wide discussion in the field of social sciences. In quantitative studies, several scholars and researchers recognize the magnitude of the problem, but they tend to diminish their severity by emphasizing a less strong terminology, such as population at risk or poverty with protection, which aims to distinguish a peculiarity of poverty in Cuba. Thus, they continue under the same slogan that we all, men and women, are equal. And that simply is not so.
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