Female representation in the Brazilian Congress

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Although women represent just over half of the Brazilian population (51.7%), this number is not reflected in the positions occupied in the National Congress .


According to the 2019 Women in Politics Map – a report published by the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – Brazil ranks 134th out of 193 nations in terms of female representation in Parliament – ​​a worse position than countries such as Ethiopia (24th), Iraq (68th) and Saudi Arabia (109th). The top positions in the ranking are held by Rwanda (1st), Cuba (2nd) and Bolivia (3rd).


Of the 81 senators elected in 2018 in Brazil, only 12 are women. In the nepal mobile database Chamber, women occupy only 77 of the 513 seats, and of the 25 permanent committees in the House, only 4, that is, 16% were chaired by women throughout 2019.


In the ranking of female representation in government, the situation is even more worrying. Brazil ranks 149th out of a total of 188 countries, with only two women among the 22 ministers in the current administration, a percentage of 9% compared to a global average of 20.7%.



Cybele Perillo (Raízen)
The predominantly male representation in Congress (85%) can be understood as a portrait of the distance that women still find in spaces of power in general.



For Cibele Perillo, Raízen’s Government Relations Coordinator, one of the reasons for this disparity is that there are fewer female candidates than male candidates. “The low level of engagement of women in politics can be observed and associated with the lack of representation. With little visibility of women in positions of power, it perpetuates the idea that politics is not a place for women,” she says. “This certainly does not help inspire girls to get involved in political party activities,” she adds.


She also points out that this scenario also extends to positions of power in the corporate world. According to the Panorama Mulher survey, women account for 26% of director positions, 23% of vice president positions and 16% of board positions. The biggest barrier to women's advancement in companies is precisely in the highest position: only 13% of Brazilian companies have women as CEOs. “What these two pieces of information show us is that politics and corporations are run by men,” she said.