Introduction Data and Methods Approach: Research was conducted through a qualitative approach, using observations to learn how the Maya women meet the challenges posed by a globalized society.

Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with Maya women in Quintana Roo, a region of the Yucatan Peninsula. Each investigatory interview session took approximately 60 - 90 minutes to complete. Questions asked were about their life history, style, culture, health and living conditions.

Women Interviewed: 10 Identified Maya women between ages 20 – 76 years, from various villages. Communities visited: Carrillo Puerto, Chankah de Repente, Copchen, Xhazil, Umay, and Chankah Veracruz

The rise of the tourism industry combined with a shift in investment from public to private sectors have contributed to the growing division of the Maya family structure. As a result, Maya women who have been at the bottom of the societal pyramid due to low level of education , lack of economic resources are becoming more isolated. Gender Oppression: The Maya women experience increased tensions in gender roles due to changing economic structures.  Family Structure: The traditional Maya family structure centered on the men as the authoritative figures is changing. Simultaneously, the number teen mothers has not responded to the evolving gender roles. Agrarian Culture: The Maya women and their families live off their land, planting seeds given by the government. Seeds that include, palm trees, lemon, bananas, and dragon fruit. They may consume their crops or sell them for full profit. Entrepreneurship Response: The Maya women created their own businesses in response to new family and economic structures. • Developed their own business models, • Created sustainable solutions for products. • Innovated to sell goods in different environments  

Findings

Local Partners

Objective: The objective is based on an exploratory research by collecting qualitative data through in-depth interviews. Primarily having had the women describe their condition of living and history from their point of view.   Potential Benefits: The benefits of this research will be increased awareness about the significant role Maya women and their tensions with Globalization.

Objective and Benefits

Work to Survive: Cultural Continuity on Maya Women Roles and Tensions with Globalization and Economic Development Andrea Ornelas, University of Massachusetts Boston

The purpose of my research is to identify the impact of globalization and economic development of Maya women. Specifically Maya women working on small microenterprises in Quintana Roo México. In collaboration with the division of Social Sciences and Economics at University of Quintana Roo and the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Mexico's relationship to modernity has shaped the Maya communities who originally inhabited the region. Consequently segregating them into isolated regions. The political economy of Mexico has exploited this population by utilizing them for cheap labor, weakening the Maya’s cultural continuity. Differences between ethnic, socioeconomic, and demographic features contribute to the dispossession of the Maya culture. Maya women involved in small businesses at home or in their local communities were interviewed using open-end questions to analyze their relationship to global economic changes as a result of transnationalism.

Contact Information Web: umb.edu/gastoninstitute Email: gastoninstitute@umb.edu Twitter: @GastonInstitute Google+: +GastonInstitute More info: Andrea.Ornelas001@live.com

Programa Organización Productiva para las Mujeres Indígenas (POPMI), a non profit organization for the women of Chankah Veracruz dedicated to baking pastries for locals.

Domestic Violence Prevention Programs: Instituto Quintanarroense de la Mujer, Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas (CDI), México Gobierno de la República, Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo, Vivir Mejor.

This project was possible thanks to the Robert Hildreth Latin America Internship Award, an undergraduate research program at the Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts of Boston