A Comparative Glance at Gendered Ethnicity
in Astra and Y.P.F.

Compiled By:

Cynthia Mackey '03
&
Anne O'Connor '03

After oil was discovered in Comodoro Rivadavia, the demand for male labor greatly increased, which in turn fueled a huge wave of immigration. Single men became the sole source for the workforce, with the oil companies Y.P.F. and Astra both luring skilled men from Europe through the incentives of free passage and housing.  While men constituted the largest population in these companies, women also played an integral role in the establishment of their communities, providing important services in both the domestic and paid work sector.  Women's and men's work differed on a variety of levels. This project seeks to compare the work patterns that emerged in the petroleum industry in Comodoro Rivadavia , based on both gender and ethnicity, from the period of 1925-1950.

This project is a  part of the Patagonia Mosaic 2003, Dickinson College, and a composite of field research conducted during that session, as well as Patagonia Mosaic 2001.