Women earned 23.6% less than men in 2015

Working women in Brazil earned 23.6% less than male workers as of 2015. Among people in employment, men were paid an average R$2,708.22 ($819.43), and women, R$2,191.59 ($663.11), according to data from the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE) released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) today (July 5).

In 2015, there were 5.1 million businesses and other active organizations employing 53.3 million people in the country, of whom 46.6 million (87%) were wage-earners and 7 million (13%) were equity partners or owners. Out of the total number of wage-earning employees, 56% were male and 44% were female. Compared to 2014, the number of payroll employees decreased 3.6%, with the male group shrinking 4.5%, and the female, 2.4%.

Education

As of 2015, 79.6% of employed wage-earners had not had degree-level education, and 20.4% had. The number of degree-educated employees grew 0.4%, whereas the number of non-degree employees decreased 4.5% compared to 2014.

The wages of employees with degree-level education averaged at R$5,349.89 ($1,618.73), whereas non-degree employees earned an average R$1,745.62 ($528.18), a 206.5% gap. Compared with 2014, the average monthly wage had a real decrease of 3.2%. Among women, this decrease was 2.3%, and among men, 3.5%. The decrease in average pay was higher among non-degree wage-earners (4.3%) than among degree-level employees (3.8%).

Translated by Mayra Borges