Women in charge of 37.3% of homes in Brazil

Women were the head of 73.3% of Brazilian households in 2010, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics announced today (Oct 31) in a study entitled Statistics on Gender – An Analysis of the Results of the 2010 Demographic Census. The figure mounts to 39.3% if urban areas are taken into consideration alone, compared to 24.8% in the country.

The survey shows that, when spouses live together with their children, women are seen as the figure in charge in 22.7% of households. When only one parent lives with his/her sons and daughters, women are regarded as responsible for 87.4% of homes. IBGE explains that the acknowledgement as to who is the head of household is made by the family members themselves.

Taking skin color as a criterion for analysis, the rate presented by white women is lower than that of black women (black and brown were placed in the same category in the survey). Whereas 35.6% of homes are headed by a woman in the first group—a percentage below the national average—in the second, this number stands at 38.7%.

The number of leading women also surpasses the national average among low-income families. If the monthly per capita earnings in the household amount to half the minimum wage ($148.11) or less, the proportion of women as head of household rises to 40.8%—or 46.4%, if only urban areas are included. If the per capita income surpasses $592.42 (the equivalent of two minimum wages in Brazil), the rate plunges to 32.7%, five percentage points below the general average (37.3%).

Leaving the identity of the head of the household aside, IBGE further reports that the participation of women in the household income reached 40.9%, against men's 59.1%. In spite of being less often in charge of the family in rural regions, women are observed to contribute more significantly to the household income in those areas—42.4%, against 40.7% in urban territories.

Furthermore, the study discloses that black and brown women are reported to make a higher contribution to the household income than white women—42%, compared to 39.7%.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira