Gender and Feminine Autonomy in Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program
Silvana Mariano

Abstract
This study analyzes the empowering conditions of women assisted by Brazil’s Bolsa Família. Our investigation develops two comparisons. Firstly, we compare the benefited women’s social situation from the large-scale cities with the ones in small-scale cities, in Brazil. We also compare the women beneficiaries from the Bolsa Família Program with the non-beneficiary ones. We see a crystallization mechanism of gender’s role in society that make the women beneficiaries maintain some tasks considered feminine responsibilities, such as the dedication to the care of others and the dependence on the government’s aid. The access of these women to the income transference has provided some benefits in terms of empowering their decisions related to the consumption of basic goods. However, this change process doesn’t reflect on the alteration of the traditional gender’s patterns and it even occurs with the reinforcement of these same patterns.

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