Trajetórias de mulheres na gestão da auditoria SUS/BA de 1999 a 2019

Abstract

Female participation in the labor market has been advancing over the years, reaching a level of 61.6% in 2015, with a growth trend until 2030. With that, the difference between the male rate, although falling, still makes up 22 points. In the scope of the private and public services, female participation in management positions reaches 39.1%, showing a predominance of men in decision-making positions. However, it is evident in the Audit sector at the Health Department of the State of Bahia of the Unified Health System (SUS / Bahia) that, since its creation, there has been a prevalence of women in management positions, in an amount significantly higher than that of the men. Thus, this dissertation had the general objective of understanding the trajectories of women in occupying management positions in the SUS / Bahia Audit, from 1999 to 2019; and as specific objectives: to describe the organizational arrangement of the SUS / Bahia Audit, the women who occupy and who held management positions and their trajectories; and to interpret those trajectories. To achieve those objectives, a methodological strategy was adopted, composed of two axes that developed in parallel and complement each other: a theoretical approach, in which the conception of professional trajectory stands out; and a field research on the trajectories of 13 women who occupy and held management positions in the SUS / Bahia Audit, from 1999 to 2019. The results revealed the evolution of the organizational arrangement of the SUS / Bahia Audit positions, being constituted and valued by symbols, quantity, and attributions, in adherence to administrative reforms that took place at the state level and legal regulations, resulting in a gain in status and importance for the entity. In addition, most of the women studied entered the public service in the 1980s and 1990s and have the profile of married women, with children and age group 42 to 64 years, in addition to great technical training. The traits that stood out were: the choice for the public service motivated by vocation and adherence to SUS values, the influence of family, the lack of perspective in the private sector, stability. By persisting in the career and in the search for new challenges, satisfaction in the choice and success resulting from the development of their work was evidenced. The valorization of female management stood out in the natural characteristics of being a woman, this being a profile of behavior incorporated in the daily work in management, in addition to some strategies that are identified as facilitators in facing the challenges in the occupation of the position, such as encouraging participation and the choice of the team, transparency, conciliation to resolve conflicts and putting oneself in the other's place, trying to be fair. Between comings and goings, the challenges are mainly overcome by reconciling at some point in their personal life with work, which requires an effort to balance these spaces, despite the routine overloaded with the responsibilities of the position and the feeling of guilt for the time taken from family, which, although little, is intense. Maturity, family structure, and emotional balance are strengths that neutralize these difficulties, being strategies used in search for quality of life. The invitation to take up positions occurs during the trajectory and considers the technical knowledge and dedication of the woman, which is the path taken by the majority. However, it was identified that not all have or had the objective of ascending the hierarchy of positions, despite being an opportunity to contribute and try new experiences. The political issues of a commissioned position end up promoting a discontinuity in the professional trajectory in the occupation of the position; however, job satisfaction and technical skills are elements that overcome the challenges imposed in a decision-making position, and for the majority of the women studied, there are no traces of prejudices experienced during the trajectory. When giving voice to women in public service, it was sought to emphasize the effort and the advancement in the professional trajectory, even considering the difficulties in reconciling the social roles still imposed on women.