In Northern Brazil, 35.7% of women are the sole providers for their households

By Letícia Misna – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – In the Northern Region of Brazil, which comprises seven states, 35.7% of women are the sole providers for their households, according to a survey conducted by Serasa in partnership with Opinion Box. This percentage is higher than the national average, where 33% of Brazilian households are financially supported exclusively by women.

Manicurist Cristina Santos, 29, is part of this statistic. Living in the East Zone of Manaus, she and her mother are the main providers for their household, which also includes Cristina’s son and her brother. In addition to financial responsibility, the burden of household chores also falls on her. “Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed,” she said.

Speaking to CENARIUM, Cristina shared that she enjoys her profession and sees herself working in it for a long time, but she wishes the pay were higher. According to her, even with government assistance, it is not enough to “have a comfortable life” and “have frequent access to services and leisure.” When asked what she considers an ideal income, she responded: “Something above R$2,000.”

Parallel lives

On another path, tax assistant Larissa Cavalcante, 31, estimates that R$9,000 per month would be enough to live comfortably. Also residing in the East Zone of the Amazonian capital, she lives alone and sees no issue in being the sole provider of her household. “I have my financial independence,” she emphasised.

Nevertheless, the position she currently holds is not yet her goal. “But it is already a big step towards where I want to be, which would be a tax or accounting analyst,” she shared.

Brazilian women

According to the study, the lower the household income, the more likely it is that women take on full financial responsibility alone. In Brazil, among the lower-income classes D and E, this figure reaches 43%, whereas among the higher-income classes A and B, the rate drops to 18%. Additionally, debt (31%) and difficulty obtaining credit (47%) are the main challenges they face.

Another notable finding is that the women interviewed in the survey revealed that social media is their primary source of financial learning (33%), followed by information on banking websites and apps (28%), and internet search engines (26%). Three out of four women feel represented and more confident when they hear other women talking about finance.

Additional data

According to the Serasa survey, in the North:

• 87% of women must balance professional life with household responsibilities;
• 36% prioritise debt repayment when organising their family budget;
• Acquiring property and paying off debts are their main financial goals.

Edited by Marcela Leiros
Reviewed by Gustavo Gilona
Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves