Written By: Dominique Jordan
August 8, 2020
The pharmaceutical workforce in Brazil is predominantly young and female. The Ministry of Work and Employment reveals that more than 80% of all pharmacists are 18 to 49 years old. Between 2010 and 2015, the 18 to 29 age group, which represents just over 30% of the total number of pharmacists, grew 11% and the 30 to 49 age group grew 60%.(1)
Female participation in pharmacy in Brazil grew from 11.3% to 63.4% in the period between 1970 and 2000, data from the censuses of these years show. While women in medicine started at the same level as pharmacy (11.6%), it reached the year 2000 with approximately 35% of women in medical jobs. Women in nursing, historically a female profession, fell from 95.8% to 90.4% in the same period. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of women pharmacists increased from 61,672 to 85,482, while that of men grew from 28,533 to 36,525 (1). The number of pharmacists in public primary health services grew 75% in five years, and pharmacists’ profile in this sector is young and female as well(2) (3).
Male and female pharmacists earn much the same in Brazil (1). Despite this and the prominence of women in the profession, it is still possible to identify a degree of male predominance in leadership positions in professional bodies and companies.
It is in the interaction with my daughters (today’s young women), my pharmacy students (more than 70% are women) and with prominent women who represent our profession that I am inspired every day to deepen my reflection, understanding and actions on issues of gender in the profession and society. They teach me every day to question the condition of women as well as the predominance of the male-centered culture that still surrounds us. They also remind me of the need to strengthen our rights and our ability to support and promote other women.
To this end, since 2012 we have worked with the National Federation of Pharmacists (FENAFAR) to support the professional development of female pharmacists and to protect their rights. Our campaign has the title “I am a woman, I am a pharmacist, I have rights!” (4), and has the aims of denouncing abuse and contributing to the improvement of work indicators in the workplaces currently occupied by women.
The campaign highlights some of the most important laws that protect women and how they have been developed over the years in Brazil. For example:
The Brazilian Federal Constitution, article 5, paragraph 1, stipulates that men and women have equal rights and obligations, under the terms of the constitution; and
The National Labour Law (CLT CHAPTER III on the protection of women’s labour) has things to say on labour conditions and discrimination against women, night shifts and off-work hours, working methods and workplaces, and maternity protection.
A review of the laws reveals that during five decades of arduous struggle, women have achieved legal protection against discrimination of the most varied orders. However, even after the undeniable advances of the 1988 National Constitution, in real life, women are still facing prejudice, mainly rooted in customs.
Breaking the silence is one of the best weapons in the fight against prejudice, archaic culture and socially constructed inequities. For this reason, I want to thank the wonderful women and young people around me for the opportunity to discuss the topic frequently, always in the defence of our rights and our opportunities.
References:
1. Carvalho M, Leite SN. Pharmaceutical workplace in Brazil. São Paulo : Escola Nacional dos Farmacêuticos, 2016, 32p. Available at: http://escoladosfarmaceuticos.org.br/pdf/livreto-mercado-WEB.pdf
2. Carvalho MN, Alvares J, Costa KS et al. Workforce in the pharmaceutical services of the primary health care of SUS, Brazil. Revista de Saúde Pública 2017;51:16s. https://www.scielo.br/pdf/rsp/v51s2/0034-8910-rsp-S1518-51-s2-87872017051007110.pdf
3. Carvalho MN, Gil CRR, Costa EMOD et al. Needs and dynamics of the Primary Healthcare workforce in Brazil. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 2018;23:295–302. https://www.scielo.br/pdf/csc/v23n1/en_1413-8123-csc-23-01-0295.pdf
4. Fenafar. I am a woman, I am a pharmacist: I have rights. São Paulo: Fenafar, 2012. Available at: http://fenafar.org.br/pdf/livreto-mulher.pdf
About the author:
Silvana Nair Leite is a pharmacist, PhD in public health and professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.