A survey conducted by MaisMei, a company that assists business management through an app, showed that among individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEI) in Brazil, 22.2% of women have completed higher education, while only 8.8% of men reach this level of education. However, while 33.1% of men have earnings above R$ 4,000, only 16.3% of women earn more than that amount through their activities. Considering earnings above R$6,000 per month, 11.3% of male micro-entrepreneurs are in this bracket, compared to only 4.9% of women.
"Considering the number of Brazilian professionals working under a CNPJ MEI, about 16 million, we realize that the level of wage inequality in terms of gender is also significant outside of large companies where women earn less performing the same functions. Some justifications can be found, such as the predominant areas of activity among men and women, but it remains a concerning proportion when we consider that female entrepreneurs invest more in professional development," evaluates Kályta Caetano, head of Accounting at MaisMei.
According to the survey, while both genders prefer commerce and sales (27.80% in the combined data), beauty and aesthetic services (16.76%) and food services (14.96%) are more common among women, while men stand out in construction and repairs. This difference points to different market niches.
In this excerpt, the MaisMei specialist makes an important remark: the double work journey. Regarding dedication to the MEI, men tend to invest more weekly hours in their businesses than women, who often work shorter hours. This indicates that women seek a balance between life and work or that there is an overload of roles. Meanwhile, the numbers suggest that men have more time to pursue personal ambitions or are assigned the role of providing for the family, he states.
Kályta Caetano assesses that this resilience and determination in the face of socioeconomic adversities reveal the crucial importance of women in the micro-entrepreneurship ecosystem in Brazil, which, according to her, should be accompanied by greater appreciation. "These findings reinforce the need for more targeted public policies and support initiatives that not only recognize these women's contribution to the economy but also work to reduce the barriers they face," she emphasizes.
The survey “The MEI Run in 2024” had a sample of 5,640 respondents, reaching a confidence level of 99% and a margin of error of 2%.
