Women’s participation in the workforce and poverty in Brazil

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the married women labor force participation across income strata. Both empirical and theoretical evidences indicate that this participation is higher the lower the husband’s income, which may suggest that women participation in the labor market is greater among the poor. Our results show, however, that just the opposite relationship emerges when one considers a more appropriate income concept for poverty matters: household per capita income, that accounts for women’s earnings. Therefore, policies aimed at eliminating barriers to their access to the labor market, coupled with the provision of adequate substitutes for child rearing activities, should contribute to ameliorate poverty.

KEYWORDS:
Female labor; labor supply; inequality