Without Black women at the center, there is no justice in the labor market | A reflection on May 1st

Talking about the labor market in Brazil without talking about Black women is to ignore the foundation that sustains the economy. The concept of intersectionality helps us understand that inequalities do not operate in isolation. Gender, race, and class overlap and produce specific forms of exclusion. In Brazil, this overlap has concrete effects.

Black women are among the groups with the lowest average income in the country, the highest exposure to informality, and the least access to leadership positions. At the same time, they are concentrated in the most precarious occupations and those with the least social protection. This is called structural inequality.

It shapes the place different groups occupy in the world of work, defining who has access to opportunities, who is recognized as leadership, and who remains confined to historically undervalued roles. And it reproduces itself in everyday life.

Black women are the majority in domestic work, care work, and informal occupations. They also face higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. In addition, they carry a historical burden: they are largely responsible for unpaid care work, which limits their access to and permanence in formal employment and reduces their possibilities for professional growth.

There is no way to discuss gender equity and parity without confronting structural racism. In the labor market, this means recognizing that universal policies, when they fail to consider race, tend to reproduce inequalities. Talking about equality without a racial lens perpetuates privileges intact.

It is necessary to move beyond symbolic inclusion. This implies confronting wage inequality, expanding Black women’s access to leadership positions, ensuring dignified working conditions, and recognizing the impact of the care economy on their professional trajectories. It also requires commitment to data, targets, and policies that treat racial inequality as a central axis of development.

Black women are not at the margins of the labor market. They are at the base that sustains it. But they cannot continue to be confined there. Placing Black women at the center of economic strategies is not only a matter of justice. It is a condition for Brazil to advance in a consistent, inclusive, and sustainable way.

It is worth noting that:• Black women earn, on average, about half the income of white menSource: IBGE, Continuous PNAD 2023

• Black women face higher rates of informality compared to other groupsSource: IBGE, 2023

• Even with similar levels of education, Black women earn lower incomesSource: IBGE, 2023

• Black women are the majority in paid domestic workSource: IBGE, 2022

• Women dedicate, on average, nearly twice as many hours to domestic and care work compared to menSource: IBGE, Continuous PNAD 2022

• Black women face higher rates of unemployment and underutilization of the workforceSource: IBGE, 2023

• Black women have lower representation in leadership and decision-making positionsSource: IBGE / market research, 2022–2023