The life of the spanish woman under the francoist regime (1940-1978).

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the social context in which Spanish women lived between the end of the Spanish Civil War (1939) and the transition (1978), and examine to what extent the said context affected their professional lives and created conditions to achieve forms of self-realisation. This research sets out to study the situation of women in the workplace and labour market of the period and to explore how they were able to give meaning to their existence through their social and personal lives. To this end, we will take into account the element associated with belonging to a given social class, as this variable influenced the opportunities for cultural and professional development. In this line of thought, it is necessary to point out that the methodological approach used for this study is based on oral history, taking as a starting point the testimonies collected by the researchers between the years 2006 and 2007. Consequently, it is important to note that 200 women were interviewed from 7 of Spain’s autonomous communities, with an average age of 78, and who at the time were all living in retirement homes. Based on this information, and after processing the data and subsequent analysis, we arrive at a series of conclusions of fundamental importance, which enable us to detect the most significant behaviours of this generation of women who are known today as the “solidarity generation”, and which was one of the key elements that drove the process of transition.