Raising Voices From the South: The Commemorative Edition of GWO South America Workshop

This Commemorative Edition has a long history, starting back in 2018 at the 10th Biennial Gender, Work & Organization Conference held at Macquarie University, in Sydney. Recognizing that the GWO Conference was traditionally organized biennially, we were enthusiastically encouraged by Professor Alison Pullen to propose a “in-between the years” GWO workshop—an initiative designed to foster engagement and academic exchange during the interim period “in-between” the main conferences. Motivated by the desire to broaden the scope and representativeness of discussions within the field, this smaller event aimed also to raise voices from South America and contribute to the expansion of the GWO community into this region. Therefore, one of its main objectives was to stimulate dialogue and encourage the production of research on gender, work, and organizations in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries of South America. The workshop also sought to serve as a platform fostering collaborations among researchers engaged with these issues, cultivating a collegial, constructive and critically engaged environment. Through this initiative, we aimed to build an interdisciplinary, inter- and intra-regional and inter-institutional network. Moreover, a key objective was to initiate the international dissemination of the research grounded in South American contexts and theoretical perspectives, thereby contributing to a more plural and globally inclusive academic discourse. In alignment with these objectives, the “Gender, Work, and Organization: The South American Workshop” (GWOBR) was held in November of 2019 in the city of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. The event received 102 submissions, of which 84 were accepted, brought together 94 scholars from across the South American academic community, along with several colleagues from other parts of the world, thus initiating a promising and ongoing dialogue. The workshop was organized by a collective of scholars listed here in alphabetical order: Alice Oleto, Alison Pullen, Ana Silvia Rocha Ipiranga, Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, João Paulo Resende de Lima, Liege Moraes, Maria José Tonelli, Rosa Ribeiro, and Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova. The event was hosted by the School of Business Administration from Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV/EAESP), under the theme: “Gender, Work and the [Invisible Feminist] Organizations.” The workshop was made possible through the generous support of several institutions and research groups: Organization Journal, FGV NEOP—Research Group on Organization & People, GENERAS—FEAUSP Research Group in Gender, Race & Sexuality, the Graduate Program in Administration from State University of Ceará, and UN Women Brazil (Win-Win Program). We would like to express our deep appreciation to all these partners, whose support was essential and sincerely valued. In terms of the event, the program was structured around topics that explored the intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, and labor from multiple angles and disciplines, divided on panels and research streams. This workshop was far more than a collection of papers—it was a political space of solidarity, resistance, and care. It strategically amplified southern and feminist voices, engaged activist and academic collaborations, and supported knowledge-making that is both critical and generative. By centering informal and feminized labor, it pushed us to rethink what counts as “organizational” and “legitimate” in gender and work studies. The event equally emphasized collective knowledge sharing, supporting early-career and underrepresented voices, and opening lived spaces for discussing gender violence, parenting in academia, and editorial practices through Alison Pullen's writing workshop. In the “Gender and Work” stream, participants addressed the professional trajectories of women in universities and workplaces, the challenges of structural inequality, and the impacts of motherhood on academic and professional careers. Scholars such as Rebeca da Rocha Grangeiro, Maria Luciana Militão, Fernanda Bastos Teixeira, Aline Mendonça Fraga, Sidinei Rocha de Oliveira, Ana Heloisa da Costa Lemos, and Ana Paula Furtado Hartmann de Queiroz Monteiro brought critical reflections and lived experiences into the conversation. The “Gender Entrepreneurship and [Invisible Feminist] Organizations” research thematic sessions focused on how women—especially Black women—lead entrepreneurial efforts in informal sectors, mentoring networks, extractive communities, and local value chains, often without institutional support. Contributions came from Hilka Vier Machado, Francisca Regilda do Vale Araújo, Cilene dos Anjos Marcondes and bringing the relevant experiences of practitioners such as Adriana Carvalho and Ana Fontes. The research stream on “Black Feminism and Intersectionality in Organizations” addressed the structural racism experienced by Black women in organizational and social contexts. Presenters such as Juliana Schneider Mesquita, Mariana Luisa da Costa Lage, Gabriela Renata Rodrigues dos Santos, Josiane Barbosa Gouvêa, and Rosimar Pereira Barbosa highlighted the limits of “diversity” as an institutional discourse and called for transformative inclusion rooted in social justice. Discussions around “Gender and Race Issues in Academia” revealed the obstacles faced by Black scholars, LGBTQIAPN+ individuals, and gender non-conforming academics. The research proposals featured scholars such as Iago Lopes, Tassiani Aparecida dos Santos, Nicholas McGuigan, Magdalena Cortese Coelho, Cláudia Simone Antonello, Mary Vera-Colina, and Ruth Alejandra Patiño Jacinto, with critical reflections on epistemic violence and feminist intellectual activism within academic institutions. Topics related to “Gender and Sexual Diversity in Organizations” were explored by researchers including Mauricio Paniza, Flávia Larsen Suba, Luiz Eduardo Pereira Batista, Renan Gomes de Moura, and Eduardo Camargo de Aguiar. Their work addressed the experiences of trans, gay, and lesbian professionals in normative work environments, often using autoethnographic and critical methods. The stream on “Feminism, Gender and Decolonialism” invited participants to rethink knowledge production from insurgent, community-based, and counter-hegemonic perspectives. Presentations by Isabela Grossi Amaral, Flávia Naves, Camilla Muglia Quental, Jesse Miguel Imas, and Daniela dos Santos Almeida challenged colonial legacies embedded in law, management, and academic institutions. The program also included reflections on “Research Practices in Gender and Feminism” (Micheli Lunardi, Marcia Zanievicz da Silva, Edmery Tavares Barbosa), “Migrant women in workplaces” (Solange Barros de Alcantara Hamrin), among other issues as maternal narratives, institutional violence, and affective pedagogies—highlighting how socially engaged scholarship can disrupt and reimagine knowledge production and organizational life. More than just an academic event, the GWO South American Workshop was a space of political engagement, care, and collective articulation. It amplified voices historically marginalized in organizational studies and deepened transnational and South-South research collaborations. Scholars from institutions such as USP, UECE, UFU, FGV, UFMA, UFRJ, UFPB, UFSC, UFJF, UFRN, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, ISCTE-IUL, and others helped shape a vibrant dialogue committed to transformation, justice, and solidarity in both knowledge and practice. Brazil has a long-standing tradition of women's right movements and gender and feminist studies, even as persistent inequalities related to gender, race, social class and age continue to shape the social and organizational landscape. Within this context, the Workshop “Gender, Work and the [Invisible Feminist] Organizations” was conceived as a new space for meaningful interaction among diverse audiences, perspectives, epistemologies, knowledge, understandings and forms of resistance within organizations. The central theme of the workshop highlights the critical role played by very small-sized and often invisible feminist organizations—not as a marginal or isolated actors, but as vital connectors. Far from being segregated, these organizations function as bridges, offering spaces of solidarity, care, and resistance that support women in navigating and confronting the complex socio-political realities of South America. In the year following the workshop, we began working on a commemorative edition dedicated to GWOBR. However, the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted academic and social life, putting many initiatives on hold: in reality, the world closed during the pandemic. As a result, it was only in 2022 that we were able to formally launch the Commemorative Edition, drawing inspiration from the powerful contributions presented during the event. The call for submissions was extended to authors of the 84 accepted and presented contributions as to the panelists who participated in the South America Workshop. Our aim was to gather contributions from a wide range of participants—scholars, researchers, practitioners, community leaders, and members of the broader GWO network—who had engaged with the themes of the workshop. We also sought to encourage submissions in a variety of formats, extending beyond the conventional academic article, welcoming diverse ways of expression in a quest to embrace diversity. The original guest editorial team—comprising Alice de Freitas Oleto, João Paulo Resende de Lima, Liege Moraes do Carmo, Maria José Tonelli, and Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova (in alphabetical order)—invited submissions in multiple formats including written pieces (short and full papers), essays, alternative narratives, artistic contributions (named Provocations—Provocações), prose, poetry, videos, music, songs, and other sound representations; and artistic works (photographs, drawings, digital creations, graffiti, comics, paintings, among others), as long as these works were originally presented at the workshop. Submissions were accepted in Portuguese or Spanish and, if accepted for publication, were to be translated into English. The Commemorative Edition received 21 submissions, and the peer review process began following the usual procedures. In 2023, however, changes occurred both within the Gender, Work and Organization (GWO) Editorial Board and within the guest editorial team, which was then composed of only three scholars from the original group. These shifts in the guest editorial team—along with adjustments to the journal's submission system—contributed to delays in the production of the Special Issue. We are deeply grateful to Natalia Vershinina and the Wiley editorial team, whose support was instrumental in bringing this Commemorative Edition to completion. Their commitment and assistance throughout the editorial process were invaluable, and we extend our sincere thanks to Natalia and the entire GWO editorial team for their generous collaboration. Two key issues warrant consideration in the context of this Commemorative Edition. First, the geographical and sociopolitical contours of South America are shaped by profound diversity. The region continues to rank among the most unequal in the world, with vast disparities both between and within the countries. Despite certain linguistic similarities between Spanish and Portuguese, language remains a significant barrier—particularly between Brazil and its neighboring countries in South America—which complicates integration and communication across national borders. As Silveira (2005) reminds us, South America cannot be taken as a homogenous group. In this regard, the Workshop made a significant effort to foster inclusion, bringing together scholars from countries such as Chile and Colombia, and promoting an inclusive environment, an environment of mutual exchange and dialogue. Second, the Brazilian context is marked by complex processes of ethnic and cultural hybridism. More than 50% of the population identifies as Black, a legacy of Brazil's history as the primary destination for enslaved Africans in the world during the colonial period (Fausto 2014). The country also bears the scars of the near extermination of Indigenous peoples, who, despite centuries of marginalization and violence, continue to resist and preserve their culture in various regions (Ribeiro 2006). The social fabric of Brazil is further shaped by Portuguese colonizers and waves of immigration that arrived in the late 19th century, resulting in a society characterized by diverse racial identities and mixed cultures influences (Ribeiro 2006). Despite enduring economic inequalities, stark social divides between the poor and the rich, and host of all sorts of contradictions, Brazil is unified by a single national language: the Brazilian Portuguese. The country's experience with democratic governance is also relatively recent, following a long history of authoritarian regimes and military dictatorship. In short, the conquest of democracy in Brazil is recent (Fishlow 2011). Women constitute more than half of the Brazilian population, and for many, entrepreneurship emerges not as a choice but as a necessity, particularly given their central role in providing for their families. A significant proportion of businesses are created out of need to generate income while balancing work and family. Notably, Brazilian women are the heads of 53% of households in the country. The consequences of poverty are particularly severe for Black Brazilian women, who, more than any other ethnic group, experience the compounding effects of structural inequality and the precariousness of the Brazilian labor market (Carneiro 2019a, 2019b). These social, economic, gender and racial dynamics are critical for understanding the context in which the selected papers were produced and the realities they seek to engage. Despite the complexity of the Brazilian context and broader Global South context, feminist thought in these regions has a longstanding and rich intellectual tradition (Costa and Bruschini 1992; Duarte 2019). In Brazil, this trajectory can be traced back to the 19th century with the suffragist movement and the pioneering work of Nisia Floresta Brasileira Augusta (Del Priore 2017). In the early 20th century, feminist expression also emerged through the cultural and artistic movement of Anthropophagy (Antropofagia), which challenged colonial aesthetics and values. One notable example is Parque Industrial, a romance written by Pagu, Patrícia Galvão, which offers a groundbreaking portrayal of women's experiences on the shop floor (Rago 2017). From the 1970s onward, Brazilian feminist scholarship has developed across various disciplines—including the social sciences, history and anthropology. A key figure during this period is Rose Marie Muraro, who advanced critical debates on gender and power, particularly challenging the pervasive “machismo” within the leftist political space. At that time, Muraro invited Betty Friedman to Brazil to participate in the launch of The Feminine Mystique in Portuguese, marking a significant moment of transnational feminist exchange (Pinto 2003; Buarque de Hollanda 2019). The Carlos Chagas Foundation also played a central role during this period by fostering research and hosting seminars focused on women's and health and reproductive rights, helping to establish a new field of study within Brazilian social sciences. It is essential to highlight the work of Lélia Gonzalez, a seminal Black feminist thinker in Brazil. In the 1970s, Lélia Gonzalez was already addressing what could later be conceptualized as intersectionality, making her one of the precursors of decolonial feminist thought. 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Our thanks also to the panelists of the GWO South America whose and made the event We extend our thanks to Alison Pullen and Banu for their and essential support in bringing the GWO South America Workshop to life. We are also grateful and the efforts of Ana Silvia Rocha Ipiranga, Rosa Ribeiro, and João Paulo Resende de for their contributions and many dedicated to the the Workshop. we express our appreciation to Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa whose and commitment were a of inspiration during the most challenging of this Commemorative Edition. Our to her for the support. a This study was supported by FGV de Work & and The that support the of this study are on from the More could also be