East of Antioquia

Colombia 2015

Family concept in Colombia 2015

The family concept in Colombia is based on the Constitution of 1991 that says that the family is the fundamental unit of society and it is formed by a man and a woman who take the free decision to have a family. This concept was accepted during some years but according to Luz Marina Villa expert in families, today it has changed because there are different types of families and different models of families.The types of families are single parent’s family, childless family, families with adopted children, among others. She states that these new models of families correspond to the old conception of family where  women are in charge of  children and  men work, but there are some differences because today’s  families want to have success and comfort (Guajardo, 2014). Therefore, the families in Colombia have evolved and present the following changes:

- More women are now working  in order to improve the family economy.

- More children are in charge of a relative or a nanny.

- Some families decided not to have children and they prefer a pet.

- More families are adopting  the communication among its members through digital     elements.

These important changes show the new family dynamics and what the families do to reach success and comfort. They can be represented in a good house, a car, vacations, good salaries and children happiness.   

 

Women in Colombia 2015 (East of Antioquia)

Family Role

In the last years, there have been changes in the family. As a result,  women have  entered to the  world of work.Today, more of them have the opportunity to pursue a career. This has changed the entire family dynamic because now the responsibility of the home is no longer entirely on the women. Nowadays men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare.

The new roles and aspects of women in the social context have caused significant changes in family dynamics.

The family role as a daughter: today in Colombia the daughter have equal rights as  than a son man, they were not forced to marry.  parents respect their decisions and thoughts. In addition, most parents encourage their daughters to develop as professionals and independent beings who can achieve any goal.

The family role as a mother: In Colombia even with the entry of women into the modern world of work, they are who carry out most responsibilities of parenting, although the man is now also part of the raising process.
The woman of today is not required to be a mother and can decide at what point have the children and and how will the process of their education

The family role as a wife : the woman can decide whom to marry. at what point marry. and also, they can decide not to. And when it makes the decision to do so, its role as a wife is to accompany and support her husband voluntarily even without while being free as an individual, and both men and women have the same rights and duties pampering.

Social Role

Taken from www.general-play.com

Social roles are the part humanity play as members of a social community. But woman has not been recognized always as a player. The recognition of woman under the law as being a member of a state is very recent. Before saying anything about the opportunities as a citizens today,  it is important to mention some history facts: In the book Colombia: A Concise Contemporary History (2012) says: ”The constitution issued in 1832 established rules for citizenship. Citizens were men who were over twenty-one years of age, married, who possessed properties with a minimum value of three hundred pesos or an annual income or at least 150 pesos that did not come from domestic service or day labor, and who knew how to read and write”. As a result, woman at that time was not allowed to vote in elections and seek employment in public works and was not a citizen either, 104 years later, in 1936, “The Colombian Congress reformed the constitution of 1886,(…) this reform opened a viable space for political participation by women in public office, (…) Women, with this reform, began attending university and, to some degree, modernity began to emerge for women in Colombia”.

A few years later, in 1945, another reform of the constitution eliminated the reference to males in the definition of citizenship, leaving citizenship open for any Colombian over twenty-one years of age”  But the right to vote had not yet be defined until 1957 holding the same political rights as men, and eighteen years later, in 1975 the constitution reduced voting age to eighteen. Finally, the constitution of 1991, which is the governing constitution of Colombia today, gives a list of rights and responsibilities of the Colombian citizens. For example, the Article 43 reads: “ Women and men have equal rights and opportunities. Women cannot be subjected to any type of discrimination. During their periods of pregnancy and following delivery, women will benefit from the special assistance and protection of the state and will receive from the latter food subsidies if they should thereafter find themselves unemployed or abandoned”. In brief, woman is considered as a citizen today in East of Antioquia and is well covered by the law which allows woman to work, and being  in political issues.

Labor participation of married woman in Colombia

In Colombia,  women's unemployment rate is about 11.2% whereas  men’s is 6.0%. It is 5.2 point higher than men’s.(Colectivo de Abogados, 2014)

According to Arango & Posada (2007) women in Colombia, have less labor participation because the next important facts:

1. The youngest women have less education level: The youngest women usually do not study after high school and they become mothers easily. 
2. So they can not find a good job.  
3. The presence of young children in the family: Women try to stay with their children the majority of time specially when they are in ages between 1 and 6 years old.
4. The level of comfort already acquired: Some of them prefer staying at home without facing the working life

These three aspects show the strong family role of women in Colombia specially the presence of young children. Historically, the women in the society is in charge of the kids and the chores. We can verify this in our families and friends experiences as well in movies and tv programs.However, today there are other aspects that are changing this traditional role, for example:

• In the universities there is a  considerable number of women and they are having access to the labor market.
• More and more women believe in the economic independence.
• The economy of the family are improving
• The necessity of women to be successful at work.

An investigation made by the Republic Bank (2014) in Colombia said that less women in productive age are at home doing housework because they decide to study, obtain a good job and do not have children. Between 1984 and 2000, there was a decrease in 32.28% in the number of children under 6 years  and after 2000, it decreased 10%. This aspect shows a big change in the family role of women because jobs have become a successful complement in women’s lives.