Highlighting the Challenges and Celebrations of Women's Entrepreneurship in Brazil
International Women's Entrepreneurship Day in Brazil spotlights both the persistent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and initiatives promoting their recognition and support.
- • Women in Brazil perform nearly three times more unpaid care work than men, limiting their entrepreneurial engagement.
- • Despite being the majority of new entrepreneurs, women-led businesses face greater challenges in accessing credit and sustaining growth.
- • Historical legal barriers have limited women's access to credit and investments, affecting business development.
- • Initiatives like GeraçãoE promote the recognition and support of women business owners, while policy proposals aim to extend paternity leave for caregiving equity.
Key details
On November 19, Brazil joins the global community in celebrating International Women's Entrepreneurship Day, a moment to recognize and support the significant role women play in business and economic growth. This day also sheds light on the persistent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs across the country.
Women in Brazil endure a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving work, performing nearly three times more than men, according to Oxfam Brazil. This imbalance significantly limits the time and resources women can dedicate to their businesses. Despite being the majority of new entrepreneurs, women-led businesses often face greater difficulties accessing credit and tend to close earlier or experience slower growth, as reported by Sebrae and detailed in the 2024 Audiovisual Panorama from Ancine. For example, within the audiovisual sector, women make up 42% of the workforce but only direct 17% of works, reflecting broader issues of representation and equity.
Historically, Brazilian women encountered legal barriers in entrepreneurship, requiring spousal permission to register businesses, which left them with less access to formal assets and credit guarantees. These obstacles continue to affect women's ability to attract investments and scale their ventures. Advocates emphasize the need for gender-sensitive credit lines, supportive maternity policies, and institutional mechanisms to enable fairer opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
Alongside these challenges, initiatives such as GeraçãoE, a section of Jornal do Comércio, promote the value and recognition of female business owners. Isadora Jacoby, editor of GeraçãoE, encourages wider support for women entrepreneurs, fostering a community to help them thrive.
Additionally, a proposal under discussion in the Brazilian Congress aims to extend paternity leave from five to twenty days, promoting a more equitable distribution of caregiving duties, which could indirectly benefit women entrepreneurs by alleviating some of their caregiving burdens.
As Brazil commemorates International Women's Entrepreneurship Day, it not only honors the resilience and impact of women in business but also calls for transformative policies and societal changes to address the systemic barriers they continue to face.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.