In São Paulo's Affluent Neighborhoods, Women Earn 40% Less Than Men

A study shows social and economic inequalities among different areas in the city

Flávia Faria
São Paulo

If you live in the neighborhood of Barra Funda, close to downtown, the chances of finding a full-time job are 290 times greater than someone who lives in Cidade Tiradentes, in the most eastern part of the city.

If you live in Jardins, your average life expectancy is 23 years more than someone whose address is in Anhanguera, in the north.

If you are a woman working in Consolação, downtown, your salary is on average 40% lower than a man working in the same neighborhood.

Women walk on Avenida Paulista, Consolação district. There, females earn 40% less than men - Folhapress

These conclusions belong to the new São Paulo Inequality Map, a study performed by the nonprofit association Rede Nossa São Paulo. The report surveyed 53 indicators in areas like health, education, culture and public transportation in 96 city districts. The data was all publicly available and referred to the year 2017.

One result that called attention was the average wage gap between men and women. Unlike most of the assessed indicators, this was the only one where the wealthiest districts - which have the best job opportunities in the city -- had the worst numbers.

"The richest neighborhoods, as good as they are, shows their inequality in the gender wage gap, due to Brazilian society's sexism," says Américo Sampaio, project manager at Rede Nossa São Paulo.

For comparison's sake, for each full-time job in the Jardim Helena neighborhood, there are 38 in the much richer Itaim. Of all 96 surveyed districts, women earn more than men on only seven. And in none of them, there is gender parity in wages.

Translated by NATASHA MADOV
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