Mulheres integrantes de Núcleos de Gênero e Diversidade na Educação Profissional e Tecnológica: narrativas sobre empoderamento feminino

Abstract

This dissertation stems from research conducted within the Professional Master’s Program in Professional and Technological Education at IFPE, Olinda campus. It was structured around the concept of integral human development, derived from the omnilateral vision of education for work, under the premise that all spaces contributing to professional training for men and women should align with this perspective. Thus, this work was guided by epistemological curiosity, aiming to answer what was revealed through documents and narratives of cisgender and transgender women linked to the Gender and Diversity Studies Center (Neged), as well as other individuals outside the center involved in the institutional debate on the possibilities of consolidating critical consciousness from the perspective of Women’s Empowerment. Thus, the general objective was defined as understanding the contributions of Neged to overcoming gender inequalities, particularly in the direction of Women’s Empowerment, based on the perceptions of women participating in these centers. To achieve these aims, bibliographic, documentary, and empirical research methods were adopted. The investigative process, during the exploratory phase, involved the application of semi-structured questionnaires, addressing the coordinators of 12 out of the 16 centers existing at IFPE. The subsequent phase began with the selection of two campuses that participated in the empirical phase of the research, during which questionnaires were applied and Narrative Interviews (NI) were conducted, involving the following segments/categories: teachers, administrative staff, students linked to Neged (current and former), current students not linked to Neged but institutionally involved in this discussion. The Educational Product resulting from the research is presented as an audio documentary, forming a series of podcasts featuring mini-conferences and narrative reflections on brief discussions about the category of women’s empowerment. These podcasts involve experiences shared by women scholars of gender relations who, in other contexts, were part of or coordinated these centers, further contributing personal insights into the presented context, enriching the understanding of Women’s Empowerment. As achieved results, the work highlights the following understandings: a) the analyzed documentary corpus indicates significant advances in affirmative gender policies at IFPE; b) Neged has fostered and promoted policies and actions aimed at overcoming gender inequality and building a critical understanding of women’s empowerment; c) Neged has established itself as a locus for addressing institutional demands concerning elements that shape the everyday lives of students and staff; d) extension projects have significantly incorporated discussions and actions aligned with the perspective of empowerment; e) the bodies of transgender women linked to Neged have asserted their presence within the institutional space of IFPE; f) temporal milestones marking the past and present in the lives of women from the same family have functioned as regulators in the construction of new meanings of being a woman/becoming a woman. It is estimated that this research contributes to studies and practices that advance affirmative gender policies, particularly in the direction of Women’s Empowerment, framed within a critical and reflective perspective