Barriers to the effectiveness of gender wage equality in Brazil

Abstract

Wage discrimination based on the gender of the worker has been forbidden in Brazil for almost eighty years. Nevertheless, wage inequality between men and women persists. This paper presents a systematization of theoretical propositions and empirical research on the trajectories of the gender wage gap. The objective is to identify the causal mechanisms explaining the gender pay gap presented in the literature, in order to better understand the limited impacts of gender pay equity policies in the country and the reasons that hinder the elimination or mitigation of these causal factors.