Motherhood and the invisibility of care: discursive disputes in the media over the 6×1 work schedule

Abstract

In recent years, the public debate surrounding the end of the 6x1 work schedule has gained visibility in Brazilian social media and news outlets, often framed as a demand for better working conditions and improved quality of life. However, despite the centrality of time in this debate, motherhood and care work remain largely invisible. This article analyzes how public discourse on the 6x1 work schedule constructs the problem of labor without incorporating the dimensions of motherhood and the reproduction of life. Based on a qualitative analysis of media and digital discourses, and drawing on literature on the sexual division of labor, the care economy, and social reproduction, the article argues that the absence of motherhood in this debate reveals the persistence of the separation between production and the reproduction of life in contemporary society.