Inequality based on race and gender still problem in Brazil

A report on the topic was released by the Institute of Social and

Published on 29/08/2017 - 18:12 By Isabela Vieira reports from Agência Brasil* - Rio de Janeiro

Inequality based on race, gender and class is still conspicuous in Brazil. The conclusion was drawn by a report released Monday (Aug 28) by the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IESP/UERJ). Black women, the study reveals, are disadvantaged compared to other groups.

The document shows that, despite the economic development observed in the last few years, inequalities were not mitigated and still pose obstacles to Brazilians' lives. The report interprets data from 2011 to 2015 from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to the research, black and brown people make up the majority of Brazilians, adding up to 55% of the population. With regards to this group's income, education and social class, however, they are disadvantaged compared to white people, who stand with the highest indicators.

mulher negra, advogada Carla Lima, desigualdade racial, desigualdade de gênero

Lawyer Carla Lima is the first in her family to graduate from university.Reprodução/TV Brasil

Black women

Overall, black women usually occupy the lowest levels. Their income is the lowest, $253, whereas white women earned a monthly $472. White men, in turn, make nearly twice as much as black women—$491.

Lawyer Carla Lima is the first in her family to graduate from university. As is the case with many black women, she believes she has to do extra work in order to prove competence and keep the job she chose, “This extra amount of work, this [need] to show efficiency, and say 'I got here because I've earned it,' is really painful,” she said. “There's also everything in our personal, social, and emotional life we have to give up,” she pointed out, implying that not every one if given the same opportunities.

As for education, inequalities also remain, which proves that Carla Lima's case is an exception. The study reveals that there is no social mobility among races. In other words, it is difficult for a black individual to socially rise, or raise their life standards and preserve them.

The study warns that inequalities are likely to aggravate in times of crisis. Unemployment, for instance, is already perceived as impacting the black population most severely, followed by brown and white people. “The historic trend in an inequality-stricken society like ours is having elites losing less in times of crisis and profit more in times of prosperity,” the document concludes, advocating the preservation of public policies directed at black Brazilians.


*Priscila Thereso, a reporter from TV Brasil, contributed to this article.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Inequality based on race and gender still problem in Brazil

Edition: Lidia Neves / Olga Bardawil

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