More and more women are responsible for households

Abstract

This study examines the evolution and underlying causes of changes in the share of women among household heads in Brazil from 1983 to 2023. During this period, the proportion of female-headed households increased from 15.6% to 51.7%. The findings indicate that the increase observed between 1983 and 2003 was primarily associated with the growing share of households without the presence of a spouse (allocation effect). In contrast, the changes from 2003 to 2023 – which account for 70% of the overall increase – are largely explained by the rising proportion of women as heads of households in homes with a spouse present (intensity effect). It also shows that factors such as per capita household income, age, educational attainment, place of residence, women's contribution to household income, occupational status, and entitlement to receive Bolsa Família benefits are important determinants of the probability of women being the head of households where a spouse is present.