Single mothers have 39% less income than married fathers – 05/12/2023 – Market

Single mothers face more difficulties in entering the labor market and, when they do manage to find a job, they have an average income lower than that of groups such as women and married men with children.

This is what a study signed by economist Janaína Feijó, a researcher at FGV Ibre (Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation) indicates.

According to the survey, the income from work of single mothers in Brazil was estimated at BRL 2,105 per month in the fourth quarter of 2022. The value was almost 39% below the income of married men with children (BRL 3,438).

Before the pandemic, in the fourth quarter of 2019, this difference was smaller. They received 33.4% less than them – BRL 2,325 and BRL 3,493, respectively. The data were published in real terms, ie, adjusted for inflation.

“Unlike single mothers, the trajectory of men in the labor market is not affected after the birth of their children”, says Feijó.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the income of single mothers (R$2,105) was around 20% lower than the income of married women with children (R$2,626).

“Married women also face difficulties in the job market. The difference is that they can count on an extra person with income”, says Feijó.

The economist’s study was prepared using microdata from the PNAD (National Household Sample Survey) Continuous, from the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The analysis is focused on single mothers between 15 and 60 years of age who are considered to be people of reference in their homes. Comparisons are made with fathers and mothers of the same age group who are in marital relationships.

Mother’s education and age impact

The study points out differences within the group of single mothers. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average working income of black single mothers was estimated at BRL 1,685 in Brazil. The value was 39.2% below the income of self-declared white or yellow mothers (R$ 2,772).

Feijó states that one of the reasons for this disparity is the level of education. In the fourth quarter of 2022, around 21% of all white or yellow single mothers had higher education. Among black or brown single mothers, the percentage dropped to 9%.

According to Feijó, there is a strong correlation between the time of motherhood and the level of education of women. In this sense, when pregnancy occurs during the school phase (between 14 and 25 years old), it can make it difficult and even unfeasible to continue studying, with possible reflections on the professional future of mothers, points out the research.

According to the survey, among single mothers who had their first child aged 15 or less, only 3% had completed higher education. Among those who had their first child at age 30, 22% had completed higher education.

“Black mothers tend to have children earlier, and this feeds back on the unfavorable situation in the labor market. Consequently, it will have repercussions on the salary level”, says Feijó.

Solo mothers who had their first child later, around age 27, tend to have an average income of around R$1,700, says the survey. It is more than double the income of those who became a mother aged 15 or less (R$ 800).

In the fourth quarter of 2022, 29.4% of single mothers were outside the workforce in Brazil. Considering only single mothers with children aged up to five years, the proportion was higher, 32.4%.

Among black single mothers, the percentage outside the force was 31% for those with children of different ages and 34.6% for those with children up to five years old. Among white and yellow, the proportion was 26.6% and 27.5%, respectively.

The non-force population is made up of professionals who are neither employed nor looking for work.

According to Feijó, one of the reflections of the difficulties of entering the labor market is the departure of single mothers to informality.

On the one hand, this choice may allow greater flexibility for women to reconcile work and child care, says the researcher.

The side effect is the lower income that informality usually generates compared to vacancies with a formal contract or CNPJ.

“What happens is that motherhood imposes a high cost on the mother. To reconcile motherhood and work, she often goes into an informal occupation”, analyzes the researcher.

The study also draws attention to the evolution of households whose reference persons are single mothers in Brazil. The number increased from 9.6 million in Q4 2012 to 11.3 million in Q4 2022.

This means an increase of 17.8% in the decade, equivalent to 1.7 million more single mothers in the period. According to the study, 90% of this increase (1.5 million) came from black and brown single mothers, which increased from 5.4 million to 6.9 million between 2012 and 2022.

Most single mothers (72.4%) live in single-parent households, consisting only of them and their children. That is, they do not live with relatives and do not have a support network to help with family and work responsibilities.

In Feijó’s view, improving the conditions for the insertion of these women in the labor market requires a combination of efforts. One of them would come from adapting the offer and opening hours of daycare centers to the needs of female workers.

“For a mother with a small child, day care is fundamental. Often, the day care center is not close to the mother, and the schedules do not help. It is necessary to understand what the women’s demands are”, she says.

She also advocates training measures for single mothers who have had to stop studying. Finally, says Feijo, companies should make arrival and departure times more flexible so that single mothers could reconcile their commitments.

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