Black or brown people who work as directors and managers receive, on average, 34% less than white people in these same positions. While white directors and managers earn R$9,831, black directors have a monthly income of R$6,446. The difference is R$3,385.
The finding is part of the Summary of Social Indicators survey, released this Wednesday (3) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The data refers to 2024 and takes into account workers aged 14 or over.
In 2012, when the IBGE series began, black people received 39% less. In 2023, the percentage decreased to 33%.
The study also provides information on the income of workers from ten major occupational groups, as defined by IBGE.
The institute does not use the term black. But the Racial Equality Statute considers the black population to be the group of people who declare themselves black and brown.
According to the 2022 Censusblack and brown people represent more than half (55.5%) of the Brazilian population.
Black people always at a disadvantage
In all groups surveyed, whites earn more. The biggest difference is in the positions of directors and managers.
The second biggest disparity is between science professionals and intellectuals. In this segment, white people receive R$7,412, and black people, R$5,192. That’s R$2,220 more in white people’s pockets.
The smallest difference is in the Armed Forces, police and military firefighters category. In this group, white people receive R$7,265, and black or brown people, R$6,331. A difference of R$934.
Of the ten large groups surveyed, the one with the highest average monthly income is that of directors and managers, who received R$8,721 monthly, on average, in 2024.
Check out how much more white people earn than black people:
- Directors and managers: R$3,385
- Science professionals and intellectuals: R$ 2,220
- Qualified agricultural, forestry, hunting and fishing workers: R$ 1,627
- Technicians and mid-level professionals: R$ 1,238
- Members of the armed forces, police and military firefighters: R$934
- Service workers, salespeople in shops and markets: R$765
- Plant and machine operators and assemblers: R$503
- Skilled workers, laborers and artisans in construction, mechanical arts and other trades: R$477
- Administrative support workers: R$451
- Elementary occupations: R$ 262
More signs of inequality
Another way to understand racial inequality in the job market in numbers is that 17.7% of white people are employed as directors and managers. Among black and brown people it is only 8.6%.
At the other end, the large group of elementary occupations has the lowest average income (R$ 1,454). While 10.9% of white people are in this occupation, black people have 20.3% of their workers working in this area.
On average across the ten major occupational groups, white people receive R$4,119, compared to R$2,484 for black or brown people, that is, 65.9% more.
When analyzing the hourly income of workers, IBGE finds that, on average, white workers earned R$24.60, a value 64% more than the hour worked by black or brown workers (R$15).
The research also reveals that for the black or brown population, obtaining a higher education diploma does not represent a reduction in salary inequality compared to white people with the same level of education.
Among white people who completed college, hourly earnings reached R$43.20. For black people, R$ 29.90. In other words, the hours worked by white people with a diploma are worth 44.6% more than that of black and brown people. It is the biggest difference between all educational segments.
The researcher responsible for the study, João Hallak Neto, assesses that in addition to education, issues such as area of activity explain the disparity.
“It doesn’t matter the degree, it matters more how the person entered the job market, whether they are working in an occupation compatible with their level of education”, says Hallak Neto.
“There are also differences in relation to career progression, there are differences between courses, we know, notably, that medical professionals receive more than nurses”, he mentions.
Informality
Black or mixed-race workers experience more informality at work, that is, conditions such as employees without a formal contract, and self-employed workers and employers who do not contribute to social security.
While the informality rate in the country is 40.6%, that of black people is 45.6%. That of whites, 34%.
