The International Monetary Fund (IMF) assesses that the Bolsa Familia program has not systematically reduced the participation of women in the labor force in Brazil and points to the gender pay gap as one of the factors that may discourage female participation in the job market.
‘We found that no, Bolsa Família does not appear to systematically reduce participation in the labor force. Except for women with children up to six years of age, where the benefit is associated with lower female participation’, pointed out the IMF in a report signed by economist Bunyada Laoprapassorn and released this Wednesday.
According to the fund, women tend to receive monthly salaries 22% lower than those received by men — in comparisons that take into account education, age, race, sector and position — and the assessment is that this disparity can lead women, beneficiaries of Bolsa Família or not, to prefer to stay at home and take care of their youngest children rather than enter the job market.
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The monthly value of Bolsa Família, which benefits approximately 50 million people in the country, is around R$680 for families that keep their children in school and comply with health conditions such as basic vaccinations.
The fund highlighted that the recovery of labor indicators to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, with the unemployment rate currently at the lowest levels in around 25 years, has left women behind men and cited the reduction in the difference in labor market participation rates between genders as a factor that could strengthen economic activity.
“Our estimates suggest that halving the difference in labor force participation rates of men and women, from 20 to 10 percentage points by 2033, could raise Brazil’s annual growth by about 0.5 percentage points over that period,” the report said.
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Among the main elements that can reduce this inequality, the IMF cited adjustments to Bolsa Família rules, especially after hiring for formal vacancies, with the aim of reducing possible disincentives to paid work.
The fund also pointed to expanded access to daycare and elder care services, adjustments to parental leave policy, and effective implementation of the Equal Pay Act as possible solutions to this disparity.
