Violence and tactics in the processes of women's integration into copper mining in Chile Violencia y táctica en los procesos de integración de las mujeres a la minería del cobre en Chile

Abstract

This paper attempts to understand the women's integration experience to the great copper mining in Chile. In doing so, we analyzed eight life stories of female workers from the Chuquicamata Division of the State-owned company Codelco. We argue that the experience of women workers is structured between the ethical violence they suffer and the tactics they use to face it. This situation lead us to a paradox: one the one hand, women question the segregation of which they have been historically victims, striving to work alongside a man, and on the other hand, they feel that this effort threatens their femininity, reinforcing the stereotypes that justifies their segregation.