The Gender Perspective in IBGE’s
Brazilian Household Surveys and
Censuses
Lara Gama
Analyst – Social Indicators Division
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
2009 Global Forum on Gender Statistics
Accra, Ghana
January 26-28, 2009
Introduction: Some Information About Brazil
Brazil is the most populated country in South
America and the 5th most populated country in the
world. It has a continental extension.
Population:
189,820 million
people
92,625 million
men (47%)
97,195 million
women (53%)
95,3 men for
each 100
women
(Source: IBGE, Brazilian National
Household Survey, 2007)
AGE STRUCTURE
Brazil - 1997/2007
%
80 anos ou mais
Homens
Mulheres
70 a 74 anos
60 a 64 anos
50 a 54 anos
40 a 44 anos
30 a 34 anos
20 a 24 anos
10 a 14 anos
0 a 4 anos
7,0
6,0
5,0
4,0
3,0
2,0
1997
1,0
0,0
1,0
2,0
3,0
4,0
5,0
6,0
7,0
2007
Fonte: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de População e Indicadores Sociais, Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios 1996 e 2006
The Gender Issue in Brazil
Institutional commitments: (1)
Brazil has signed several international agreements on
gender equality:
• CEDAW - Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (UN General
Assembly, 1981). In the present, Brazil is a member of
the CEDAW Committee.
• Convention of Belém do Pará (Belém do Pará, Brazil,
1994) – Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women.
• Fourth World Convention on Women (Beijing,
1995) and the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Beijing+5 (New York, 2000)
The Gender Issue in Brazil
Institutional commitments: (2)
Recognizing the importance of prioritizing public policy
specifically directed to women’s needs, Brazil has created
several institutional instances that address gender issues:
• Special Secretariat for Women’s Policy, 2003 reaffirmed the federal government commitment to the
gender equality.
• Technical Committee on Gender and Time Use
Studies, 2008 – an inter-institutional alliance involving
IBGE, the Women’s Secretariat and IPEA, with the support
of OIT and UNIFEM. Its goal is to boost gender studies
and statistics in Brazil.
• National Observatory on Gender Equality, will be
launched march 2009 – created by the Women’s
Secretariat, in alliance with OIT and UNIFEM. Its goal is to
monitorate the gender public policies in progress in Brazil.
About the Production of Gender Statistics
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
The 2000 Census
From the results of the 2000 Census, the most
important study published with a gender perspective
was: “A profile of women as the household
reference person in Brazil”. The study included
information about:
• geographical distribution
• age distribution
• educational and income levels
• women living alone
• children living under women’s responsibility
• comparative information: 1991/2000
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
The 2000 Census
Main Changes: 1991/2000
Households where the reference person is a woman:
1991: 18,1%
2000: 24,9%
37,6% 
Proportion of literates: 15,7% 
Medium income: 61,9% 
Medium years of study: 27,3%  Median income: 78,1% 
< 3 years of study: 24,0% 
Children 0-6: 69,5% 
15 years or more: 27,3% 
Children 0-6, < 2 S.M. : 20,3% 
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
Steps for the 2010 Census
The questionnaire is in phase of tests and still passing
through modifications.
1. Two pilot tests were already made:
1. September 2008
2. January 2009
2. The experimental Census will be held in August
2009.
3. The Census will go to field in August 2010, for a
period of 4 months.
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
Steps for the 2010 Census
Changes that are important on gender perspective
RESPONSABILIDADE PELO DOMICÍLIO
3.01 - PESSOA RESPONSÁVEL PELO DOMICÍLIO:
(Aquela que é reconhecida como tal pelos
moradores do domicílio)
1 - APENAS UM RESPONSÁVEL
2 - MAIS DE UM RESPONSÁVEL
For the first time, there
will be the possibility of
indicating joint headship
(two or more people as
reference for the
household).
3.01 – Household reference person:
(The one who is recognized like that by the household members)
1 – Only one person
2 – More than one person
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
Steps for the 2010 Census
Modifications that have an influence on gender perspective
3.03 - QUAL É O PRINCIPAL MOTIVO PARA ESCOLHA DESTE RESPONSÁVEL?
1 - PAGA A MAIOR PARTE DAS DESPESAS
2 - CUIDA DOS MORADORES DO DOMICÍLIO
3 - PESSOA MAIS IDOSA DO DOMICÍLIO
4 - OUTRO MOTIVO
3.03 – What is the main reason for
the choice of this person as the
reference person?
1. Pays most of the expenses
2. Takes care of household members
3. Is the oldest person in the household
4. Other reason
Due to the
increasing
identification of
women as the
household
reference person,
a new question
was introduced
to make clear the
reasons for the
choice of women.
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
Census 2000 x Census 2010
Relationship to the reference person
2000: 11 categories of relationship
Patterns of family organization
What is the relationship to the household responsible person?
2 – spouse
7 - other relative
3 – child
8 – aggregate
4 - parent (or parent of spouse)
9 – pensioner
5 - grandchild or great-grandchild
10 - domestic employee
6 – brother or sister
11 – domestic employee’s relative
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
2010: 19 categories
More information on
how the families are
organized in Brazil
3.04 - QUAL É A RELAÇÃO DE PARENTESCO OU DE CONVIVÊNCIA
COM A PESSOA RESPONSÁVEL PELO DOMICÍLIO?
2 - spouse or partner of different sex
3 – spouse or partner of the same sex
4 – child of the responsible and spouse
5 – child only of the responsible
6 – child only of the spouse
7 – son-in-law/ daughter-in-law
8 – father or mother
9 – mother-in-law, father-in-law
2 - CÔNJUGE OU COMPANHEIRO(A) DE SEXO DIFERENTE
3 - CÔNJUGE OU COMPANHEIRO(A) DO MESMO SEXO
4 - FILHO(A) DO RESPONSÁVEL E DO CÔNJUGE
5 - FILHO(A) SOMENTE DO RESPONSÁVEL
6 - ENTEADO
7 - GENRO OU NORA
8 - PAI OU MÃE
9 - SOGRO(A)
10 - NETO(A)
11 - BISNETO(A)
12 - IRMÃO OU IRMÃ
13 - OUTRO PARENTE
14 - AGREGADO(A)
15 - CONVIVENTE
16 - PENSIONISTA
17 - EMPREGADO(A) DOMÉSTICO(A)
18 - PARENTE DO(A) EMPREGADO(A) DOMÉSTICO(A)
19 - INDIVIDUAL EM DOMICÍLIO COLETIVO (Passe bloco 4)
10– grandchild
11 - great-grandchild
12 – brother or sister
13 - other relative
14 – aggregate
15 – cohabitating person
16 – pensioner
17 - domestic employee
18 – domestic employee’s relative
19 – individual living in collective
household
The Gender Perspective in the Censuses
Steps for the 2010 Census
2 questionnaires:
Basic questionnaire: age, sex, color/race, ethnicity if
indigenous, language spoken, literacy, level of education,
income.
Sample questionnaire: other aspects of life conditions
as: health services, religion, disabilities, marital status,
economic characteristics, fertility, migration, educational
characteristics.
Other IBGE’s household surveys that
provide information by sex and age
Brazilian National Household Survey
• Published since 1967. Periodicity: annual
• Focus on economic characteristics and life conditions
• Sample: 143 thousands households and 410 thousands
people
• It’s the most important source to measure time use and
non-remunerated work, with 2 questions:
1. In the (reference week), did __ do household activities?
(question introduced in 1992)
2. How many hours a week does __ dedicate normally to
household activities? (question introduced in 2001)
Other IBGE’s household surveys that
provide information by sex and age
Time, work and household activities: an
analysis based on the National Household
Surveys 2001 and 2005
• A study published in August 2007
• For the first time, IBGE approaches the theme of time
use, in a study of great repercussion
• It calculated the journey at the workplace + the time
spent on household activities for men x women, by age
groups, relationship to the responsible person, type of
family, among other characteristics
Other IBGE’s household surveys that
provide information by sex and age
Social Indicators Synthesis
• This annual publication is one of the most important
sources of social information in Brazil
• Published since 1998
• In 2003, a chapter about “Women” was introduced
and it’s the most important reference for gender
analysis among IBGE’s publications
•The chapter provides information about women’s work,
education, income, headship of the household, poverty
• Since gender is a transversal theme, the chapter doesn’t
cover it exhaustively, but it offers a minimum set of
indicators that characterize women’s life conditions, as
well as other aspects directly related to female life cycle,
like maternity
Other IBGE’s household surveys that
provide information by sex and age
• Monthly Work Survey
• Family Budget Survey
• Urban Informal Economy
• Counting of the Population 2007
• Agropecuary Census 2007
Future Perspectives:
Technical Committee on Gender and Time Use Studies
• The committee, an inter-institutional alliance involving IBGE,
the Women’s Secretariat and IPEA, is now the focal point for
gender studies in the institution.
• It involves two departments at IBGE, the Social Indicators
and the Employment and Income Department, to improve the
capacity of making gender analysis with a broader view.
• The main goals of the committee, at the moment, are to:
• map the existing production of data by sex in Brazil and
make deeper analysis studies with a gender perspective
• focus on the two themes where there’s more need for
information: time use and violence against women.
Future Perspectives:
Household Surveys Integrated System
• The National Household Survey and the Monthly Work
Survey will be integrated and will be held in a rolling method.
The Family Budget Survey will also be continuous.
• There will be a “master sample” for all the household
surveys.
Advantages:
• More flexibility on the inclusion of new themes
• Information more detailed geographically
• Short-term indicators about labor market, nationally
• Continuous information about expenditure
• Methodological harmonization and uniformization of
concepts
• Optimization of resources
Final Considerations:
• The Brazilian Statistical Institute has a long tradition of
producing statistics decomposed by sex and age.
• However, it is necessary to review some conceptual and
methodological matters, to make a better picture of the
reality of man and women in the country.
• It is also necessary to broaden the scope of analysis,
particularly in the themes of time use and domestic
violence.
• In spite of a great amount of data produced, the
dissemination of studies and indicators with a gender
perspective is recent and needs to be encouraged.
• For that purpose, the inter-institutional articulation has
been fundamental, but it still suffers with the lack of
human, financial and technical resources as well as the
need for training.
Thank you!
Contacts:
lara.gama@ibge.gov.br
ana.saboia@ibge.gov.br