In 2018, the average earnings of employed women aged 25 to 49 (R$ 2,050) were equivalent to 79.5% of men’s earnings (R$ 2,579) in the same age group. Considering color or race, the proportion of average earnings of employed white women in comparison with employed white men (76.2%) was lower than the ratio between black or brown women and men (80.1%).

Women in the aforementioned age group earned, on average, R$ 13.0, or 91.5% of the hour worked by men (R$14.2). So, without taking into account the time spent on household tasks and on taking care of others, women worked, on average, fewer hours (4.8) than men.

Considering the selected occupations, the participation of women was bigger among workers engaged in domestic services in general (95.0%), teachers working in elementary education (84.0%), workers that clean indoor areas of buildings, hotels and other establishments (74,9%) and call center professionals (72.2%). In the group of Directors and managers, women had a participation of 41.8% and their average earnings (R$ 4,435) corresponded to 71.3% of men’s (R$ 6,216). Among Intellectuals and Science professionals, women had bigger participation (63.0%) but received 64.8% of men’s earnings.

The occupations demanding a higher level of schooling also had unequal earnings. Among elementary school teachers, women were paid 90.5% of men’s earnings. Considering university professor, whose participation (49.8%) was close to that of men, the average earnings of women represented 82.6% of men’s. Other occupations of a higher level of schooling, such as Specialized doctors and Lawyers recorded female participation around 52%, with a bigger difference between the earnings of women and men, and percentages of 71.8% and 72.6%, respectively.

The occupation group with lowest inequality is Member of armed forces, police officers and firefighters, in which women’s earnings was, on average, 100.7% of men’s. big>

All that and more can be found in the Special Study on Differences in the Earnings of Men and Women in Groups of Occupation, based on the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD). The complete publication can be found on the right of the page.

Women’s earnings represent 79.5% of men’s

In 2018, the average value of one hour worked was R$ 13.0 for women, and R$14.2, for men, and women received 91.5% of what was earned by men. The analysis of the ratio of women’s and men’s earnings (percentage of men’s earnings received by women), the proportion decreased, being 79.5%, with figures of R$ 2,579 (men) and R$ 2,050 (women).

On average, men worked 42.7 hours per week, whereas women did 37.9 hours, without considering the hours spent on household tasks and taking care of others, that is, women worked about 4.8 hours less per week in the production aimed at the market in 2018. The reduction of that difference versus 2012 (6.0 hours), resulted from a more significant decrease of hours worked among men (1.6 hours) than among women (0.4).

Ratio between average earnings of men and women decreases with age

In all the years of the series, there is a trend to decrease of the ratio of women’s earning with age. In 2018, an employed woman aged 25 to 29 received 86.9% of the average earnings of a man; those aged 30 to 39,  81.6% and the ones aged 40 to 49, 74.9%. In the last group, the average earnings of women amounted to R$ 2,199 and that of man, R$ 2,935; in the first one (age 25 to 29) figures were R$1,604 and R$ 1,846, for, respectively, women and men.

The movement of decrease of the income proportion in the case o folder women followed the reduction of average working hours: among women aged 25 to 29, 3.6 hours less that men the same age, and, among women aged 40 to 49, the difference hit 5.4 horas in 2018.

Considering the path of men and women throughout the years, it is observed that the average earnings of men aged 40 to 49 was 59.0%, above the figure relative to those aged 25 to 29.  The earnings of older women (age 40 to 49) was 37.0% above that of younger ones (aged 25 to 29).

Ratio (%) between the average usual earnings from all the activities of women and the earnings of men aged 25 to 49, employed in the week of reference, by age groups - Brazil – Q4 2012-2018

Ratio of earnings of black or brown women in relation to men the same color surpasses ratio of earnings of white women 

Continuous PNAD shows that the average yield of the employed black or brown population corresponded, on the average, to 60.0% of the total received by white workers and that all the employed women have earnings below that of men of the respective color. However, the proportion of average yield received by employed White women in relation to the employed white men (76.2%) was lower than that of black or brown women (80.1%) in relation to men in the same group of color or race in 2018. The reduced inequality between the earnings of blacks and browns may be related to that fact that population has more participation in minimum-wage occupations. That behavior was observed in all the time series.

Level of schooling of the employed population increased between 2012 and 2018

In 2012, 13.1% of the employed men had higher education, with an increase to 18.4% in 2018. Among women, that figure increased from 16.5% (2012) to 22.8% (22.0%). In 2018, the lowest average earnings, by level of schooling, belonged to women without instruction or with incomplete elementary education (R$ 880), whereas the highest earnings were those of men with complete higher education (R$ 5,928).

From 2013 to 2018, the ratio between the earnings of women and men without instruction and with incomplete elementary education recorded the highest percentage among all levels of schooling. From 2012 to 2014, the ratio increased with the level of schooling; in 2017 and 2018, that was reversed and women with complete higher education recorded the lowest percentages (62.7% in 2017 and 64.3% in 2018).

Participation of women is bigger in administrative support and sciences

In the distribution of the employed population aged 25 to 49 by groups of occupation, the main percentages were those of Intellectuals  and science professionals (13.0%); Qualified workers, factory workers and artisans (13.0%); Elementary occupations (16.5%) and Service workers, trade and market sellers (22.1%). With a smaller participation of employed persons, there were: Member of armed forces, police officers and firefighters (1.0%), Directors and managers (4,7%) and Qualified workers in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing (4.7%).

The presence of women was a highlight in elementary occupations (55.3%), service workers, trade and market sellers (59.0%), among intellectuals and science professionals (63.0%) and as administrative support (64.5%).

Percent distribution (%) of the population aged 25 to 49 employed in the week of reference, by groups of occupation in the main job, by sex – Q4 2018 

The analysis of each group of occupation included the average usual earnings from the main job, the percent participation of women in the occupation, the percentage of hours worked by women versus that of men and the difference of earnings in 2018. The biggest average earnings were those of Directors and managers; Intellectuals and science professionals and among members of the Armed forces, police officers and firefighters.

In the first group (Directors and managers), the average earnings of women (R$ 4,435) corresponded to 71.3% of men’s (R$ 6,216). In Intellectuals and Science  professionals, in which women were he majority (63.0%), the ration of earnings decreased to 64.8%.

Women also had a participation above 60% in the group Administrative support workers , however, their percentage of earnings was above that of Intellectuals and science professionals, at a ratio of 86.2%.

Member of the armed forces, police officers and firefighters had the lowest levels of inequality, since women’s earnings represented, on average 100.7% of men’s.

Average usual earnings from the main job of the population aged 25 to 49 employed in the week of reference, by sex, by groups of occupation, participation of women in the occupation and ratio (%) of female versus male earnings - Brazil - Q4 -2018

Without considering the time spent on household tasks, women work fewer hours than men 

On average, without taking into account the time spent on household tasks and on caring for persons, women worked 4.9 hours less than men. That difference was smaller in the groups of Directors and managers (-2.0 hours), Technicians and workers in secondary education jobs (-1.9 hours) and Administrative support workers (-12 hours).

On the other hand, women in the groups Qualified workers in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing and Qualified workers, factory workers and those engaged in contruction, mechanics and other activities worked, on average, 7.0 hours less than men. In these two groups, however, there werer the smallest differences in the value of hours worked (R$ 1.1 and R$ 1.6, respectively). The hour paid to women was only higher than to men in Elementary occupations (R$ 0.70) and in Members of armed forces, police officers and firefighters (R$ 3.90).

There was a trend to decrease of the percentage of women's earnings increasing with the age inalmost all the groups of occupation. The biggest decrease came from the group of Qualified workers in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing, in which women aged 25 to 29 earned 88.4% of men's earnings, whereas, among those aged 40 to 49, that proortion fell to 64.5%. On the other hand, women engaed in Elementary occupations were the only ones not to record decrease with the age, keeping the ratio at about 89.0%.

As for color or racde, the groups Directors and managers (64.1%) and Intellectuals and science professionals (60.4%) had the biggest proportions of white persons, whereas elementary occupations (69.1%) and Qualified workers, factory workers and those engaged in contruction, mechanics and other activities (60.3%) registered the main participation of blak or brown workers. 

The difference between the earnings of ehite women in relation to white men was bigger than the diffrence between black or brown women in relation to black or brown men. That same behavior was reproduced in the groups Directors and managers (70.5% and 81.3%), Intelectuals and science professionals (62.9% and 70.3%) and Qualified workers, factory workers and those engaged in contruction, mechanics and other activities (66.4% and 72.1%). On the other hand, in the groups Service workers, trade and market sellers (66.8% and 65.7%) and Qualified workers, factory workers and those engaged in contruction, mechanics and other activities (68.1% and 60.8%) the ratio of earnings of black or brown women was below that of white women in relation to white men. 

Occupations demanding a higher level of schooling also had uneven earnings 

In 2018, the average earnings of the employed population aged 25 to 49 was R$ 2,260. The percentage of average earnings of women was predomintly smaller than that of men in all the occupations selected, regardless of a lower or higher level of female particpatioo or of high or low earnings. 

The participation of women in the employed population was bigger among Workers engaged in domestic services in general (95.0%), Elementary school teachers (84.0%), Workers that clean indoor areas of buildings, hotels and other establishments (74,9%) and Call center workers (72.2%).

Among these occupations, that of Elementary school workers had the highest ratio of increase among men and women (90.5%). Among Univerity and higher education professors, women's earnings represented 82.6% of men's, whereas that participation was almost half as men's (49.8%).

Average hours worked and average earnings from the main job of the population aged 25 to 49 employed inthe week of reference, by sex, by selected occupations - Brazil - Q4 2018

On the other hand, Agricultural workers and qualified workers in agriculture (except vegetable gardens, nurseries and gardens) - which had the smallest proportion of women (23.8%) -, earned 64.2% of men's earnings.

In the occupation of Specialized doctors and Lawyers, which had relative balance of female participation (about 52%) and demand a higher level of schooling in bothe cases, the difference of earnings increased, with percentages that decreased to 71.8% and 72.6%, respectively.