Brazil: Women incur more debt, show greater commitment to repaying it
As the primary breadwinners in many lower-income families, women in Brazil continue to carry more debt than men. Surveys by the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) and Serasa, a credit data company, highlight the impact of debt on women.
The Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey (Peic), released this month by CNC, reveals that while the gender gap has narrowed compared to 2024, women remain more indebted than men. In February this year, 76.9 percent of women were in debt, compared to 76 percent of men. In the same month last year, the gap was wider, with 78.8 percent of women in debt versus 77.2 percent of men, a difference of 1.6 percentage points.
“Historically, a wage gap between men and women has persisted, though it has been narrowing over time. Alongside this, women have gained greater independence in the job market and within their families. In the past, the disparity was even more pronounced, with many women relying heavily on their spouses or other family members. As a result, their indebtedness tends to be higher, as they often need more credit to manage their daily expenses due to lower incomes,” says Felipe Tavares, chief economist at CNC.
Credit for women
Merula Borges, a finance specialist at the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL), highlights that beyond the wage gap, women also face challenges in accessing credit.
“We can see in female entrepreneurship that women find it harder to get credit. They more often do business informally and use informality as a means of subsistence,” she says.
Additionally, many women, particularly those in lower income brackets, must bear the responsibility of covering family expenses on their own.
A survey released this month by Serasa points out that 93 percent of women contribute to family expenses, with 33 percent of households relying solely on them. The figure is even higher in lower income brackets (classes D and E), where in 43 percent of cases, women are the sole breadwinners.
Double burden
These figures reveal only one aspect of the challenges women face, as 90 percent of those surveyed reported having to balance paid work with domestic chores.
“Women manage the household on their own, working double shifts. On top of that, they handle the daily expenses of supporting a home and children. Despite this, they are determined to avoid any outstanding debts to ensure they don’t face difficulties when applying for credit,” says Tamires Castro, a specialist at Serasa.
According to the Serasa survey, 40 percent of the women respondents prioritize managing debt when organizing the family budget. They also close 25 percent more deals than men at the Serasa Clean Name Fair, which aims to help debtors regularize their financial situation and remove their names from the negative credit list, making it easier for them to access credit.
Felipe Tavares stated that although women carry higher levels of debt than men, they are more mindful of their budgets.
“Even in the past, when women had less [financial] independence, they played a very active role in managing the family budget. With the increase in income and independence, financial management tends to improve in budgets managed by women,” said Tavares.
Serasa highlights that the main financial challenges women face are the difficulty of obtaining credit (47%) and indebtedness (31%). Additionally, eight out of ten women (85%) have been denied credit at some point.
In the 12 months prior to the survey, the majority of women who applied for credit did so to cover unexpected expenses (26%) and credit card bills (22%).
