Laying the Foundations to Build Ergonomic Indicators for Feminized Work in the Informal Sector

Colombia has a population of 25 million women; almost half of these are economically active, and the majority are linked to the informal sector facing highly feminized jobs. This situation affects the development of their ‘work activity’ and dramatically decreases their quality of life. From the ‘analysis of the work situation’, the characteristics of the human being, the work environment and the social context in which the work activity takes place, this study aims to lay the foundations for building ‘ergonomic indicators’ that favour understanding and the transformation of feminized work systems. Using a mixed approach methodology, we seek to access a population of 80 women between 18 and 60 years old who are linked to the informal sector. The application of questionnaires with specific variables such as general context, family environment, socio-occupational aspects, work environment, individual conditions, among others, leads researchers to obtain the expected results. At the time of writing this paper, the project has partial results of the qualitative component. From there, the categories that will lead the construction of the indicators are defined, such as: occupations of opportunity, changes in operating modes, new work activities, space and proximity, new forms of employability, perceptions of the new way of working and more. As the project is currently under development and given the government policies associated with the pandemic, the development of the quantitative section has been delayed. It is expected that the results and general conclusions will be shared within the framework of the congress.