Women make up 53% of voters in Brazil

BRASILIA. KAZINFORM - In the October 2022 elections, women should once again represent the majority of Brazilians eligible to vote. Of the more than 156.4 million eligible to head for the polls in two rounds, 53 percent—a little more than 82.3 million—are reported to be female, and 74 million male—47 percent. The figures were released by the country’s top electoral court TSE, Agencia Brasil reports.

Regionally, the three top electoral areas—São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro—concentrate nearly half of the country’s votes (42.64%).

The state of São Paulo, with as much as 22.16 percent of the country’s electorate, is home to 18.3 million women and 16.2 million men eligible to vote.

In second place comes Minas Gerais, with 8.5 million women and 7.7 million men.

In Rio de Janeiro, the third largest area, women outnumber men by 1 million. In the state, 6.9 million voters are female, 5.9 million are male.

Most Brazilian women voters (5.33%) are aged 35 to 39, followed by those aged 40 to 44 (5.32%). The 25–29 age group adds up to 5.2 percent.

Among electors who live abroad, women are also in the majority. Of the nearly 700 thousand people living outside the country who have registered to vote for president, 59 percent are women and 41 percent are men.

Representation

Such significant numbers are yet to be reflected in major political seats. According to the data, women are still underrepresented in these positions. In the 2018 General Elections, only six of the 81 seats in the Brazilian Senate were occupied by women. In the lower house, of the 513 elected only 77 were female. In 2018, only one female governor was elected, Maria de Fátima Bezerra, in Rio Grande do Norte state.

To encourage women to join and remain in politics, the court launched the new campaign Mais Mulheres na Política 2022 («More Women in Politics 2022») in June 2022. Broadcast nationwide on the radio and TV as well as online, the initiative casts light on the difference between the real Brazil, with its strong female presence, and the political Brazil, a universe in which women are still a minority.

Photo: agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br