Among MEIs, women have more education than men, but receive much less

A survey conducted by MaisMei, a company that assists business management through an application, showed that among individual microentrepreneurs (MEI) in Brazil, 22,2% of women have completed higher education, while only 8,8% of men achieve this level of education. However, while 33,1% of men have incomes higher than R$ 4 thousand, only 16,3% of women earn above this value with their activities. Considering incomes above R$6 thousand, 11,31310 women are microentendors of women. 

“Considering the number of Brazilian professionals working from a CPNJ MEI, about 16 million, we realize that the level of wage inequality in terms of gender is also large outside the large companies in which women receive less performing the same functions. It is possible to find some justifications as the predominant areas of activity between men and women, but still it is a worrying proportion if we think that entrepreneurs invest more in professional preparation”, evaluates Kalyta Caetano, head of Accounting at MaisMei. 

Still according to the survey, while both genders prefer trade and sales (27,80% in the collection of the two genders), beauty and aesthetic services (16,76%) and food (14,96%) predominate among women, while men excel in construction and repairs. 

In this cut, the MaisMei specialist makes an important caveat: the double workday. “As for dedication to MEI, men tend to invest more weekly hours in their businesses than women, who often work shorter hours. This indicates that women seek balance between life and work or that there is an overload of roles. Meanwhile, the numbers indicate that men have more time to pursue personal ambitions, or are assigned to provide family support”, she says.

Kalyta Caetano evaluates that this resilience and determination in the face of socioeconomic adversities reveals the crucial importance of women in the microentrepreneurship 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, which not only recognize the contribution of these women to the economy, but also work to reduce the barriers that face”, she points out.

The “O Corre survey of MEI in 2024” had a sample of 5,640 respondents, achieving a confidence level of 99% and a margin of error of 2%.