Women form the majority of the unemployed in Brazil’s six metropolitan areas – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Porto Alegre, and Salvador – covered in the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) for September.
The results of the survey were announced on Wednesday, October 26, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
56.1% of the total unemployed population in September are women. This is the highest level for the period since 2002, when it stood at 55.6%.
The coordinator of the survey at the IBGE, Cimar Azeredo, says that the percentage can be understood, in part, as a result of the labor market, which still believes that many women are neither "family breadwinners nor responsible for their own maintenance and therefore can remain unemployed longer." Furthermore, there exists a prejudice against their entry into the labor market.
"It is well known that, historically, women have a more difficult time entering the labor market, in terms of their range of choice, for reasons of prejudice, because they can get pregnant, and because they will require medical leave.
"There is a whole process that makes it more difficult for women to enter the labor market. This situation has been changing, and business owners and the population as a whole have become more aware of this, but the difference still exists," he explained.
The age group with the highest rate among the unemployed population in these regions is from 25 to 49.
Agência Brasil