enrolled in high schools and universities in the Federal District — 1907–1912.
Source: Statistics of the 20th century, IBGE (2003).
The reasons why the level of Brazilian investment in education was low owes its origins in the primary products export-driven economic model that had been based on slavery. While the population remained in the countryside, with its archaic means of production, schools exercised no important role in qualifying human resources, being merely an agent for educating people on how to enjoy their leisure time or for preparing for self-employed professional careers, in the case of men, or for being primary school teachers or housewives, in the case of women (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009).
By redirecting Brazilian development toward the domestic market and to the urban, industrial sector, the Revolution of 1930 led to the first public policies for the masses, especially for those who lived in urban areas. The new demands made by industrialization and urban services had an influence on the content and expansion of education. But, as the expansion of capitalism was not homogenous all over Brazil, most of the expansion demanding for schools occurred in regions where capitalist relations were more advanced (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009).
During the period of the so-called Populist Pact (1945–1964), despite popular pressure for the democratization of education, the ‘aristocratic’ character of schools was maintained with the agreement of the ruling elite, making the expansion of schools occur in a manner that was unplanned and inadequately financed. It is important to point out that only in 1961, with the Guidelines and Bases of Brazilian Education Law (LDB) (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009), was the equivalence of all high school courses guaranteed, thus opening up the possibility for women who were doing teacher training to sit for university entrance exams. So, it was from the 1960s that Brazilian women had a bigger possibility of attending university, and it was only in the 1970s that the reversal of the gender gap in university education began.
As industrialization and urbanization in the country began to intensify, the educational system grew both horizontally and vertically. The military governments that came to power after 1964 drew their inspiration from the North American model. They took measures to meet the growing demand for places and professional qualifications, which was also in accordance with their international commitments. The alliance between military and techno-bureaucracy made it possible for large growth in the number of postgraduate courses. The objectives were to produce competent teachers for the universities themselves, stimulate development of scientific research, and ensure the formation of intellectuals who were qualified to respond to the needs of national development (Cunha, 2000). The expansion of education in Brazil continued with the process of redemocratization in the country, with installation of the ‘New Republic’ in 1985. In the 1990s, public policies were developed that were aimed at maintaining children in school (School Scholarship Scheme) and making an effort at providing universal basic education (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009, n. 34).
In the higher education sector, there was major growth in private universities, and the number of students enrolled in them greatly exceeded the number in public universities. This general expansion of places in Brazilian education particularly favored women. In the second half of the 20th century, women managed to reverse the gender gap in education at all levels. They knew how to take advantage of the opportunities created by the social transformations that were occurring in the country (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009, n. 34). For instance, in 2007 53.3% of newly enrolled university students were women and 55% or more of first-year students had been women for the last 15 years. Therefore, all the levels of education sector were dominated by women who were in majority at every level in Brazil, and thus the average rate of schooling among Brazilian women became more than 1 year higher than that of men. However, women still earned 30% less than men for the same work, and even in the Brazilian congress they occupied less than 10% of the seats.9
The absence of gender equity had extended to education itself. School curricula, textbooks, and teaching methods reinforced stereotypes that devalued the role of women and confined them to the home and to low-status jobs and careers. It also projected ‘hard’ science and technology education at the universities to be a male domain. The non-governmental Human Development Network of Brazil pointed out that despite the superior education achievements made by women, it had no impact on their treatment on the workforce, where they continued to face major disadvantages when it came to employment conditions, negotiations, and promotions (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009, n. 34).
The Organization of American States (OAS) on its ‘Brazil Report’ in the framework of the Non-Sexist and Anti-Discrimination Education Campaign by the Acao Educativa Organization in collaboration with ECOS — Communication and Sexuality part of the reference Centre for the victims of violence of the Sedes Sapientiae Institute of Sao Paulo (CNRVV) coordinated by CLADEM (LAC Community for the Defence of Women’s Rights) — are attempting to deal with challenges of social gender relations in guaranteeing human rights in education. They are critical of the Brazilian state’s reports which speak of gender equity (between men and women) in education. These mostly emphasize the increasing literacy and better performance of women in education. The OAS Report puts forth the persistent inequalities among the Brazilian women. The progress in indicators of access and performance is marked by inequality among women according to income, race, ethnicity, and residence (rural/urban), especially Afro-Brazilian and indigenous women. These women also face unequal access to quality education and livelihood (Beltrao and Diniz Alves, 2009, n. 34).
But above all, the reversal in the gender gap has been a triumph that resulted from a historical effort by the women’s movement as part of a more general struggle for equal rights between the sexes that involved countless social players. This did not only happen in Brazil, but was part of a worldwide change whereby the role of women in society was being redefined (Therborn, 2004). The introduction of the various social programs in education, employment, health, and housing by the government produced various levels of success. PBF is considered to be one of the most successful social initiatives undertaken by the successive governments of Cardoso, Lula, and Dilma.
Conditional Cash Transfers and Women’s ‘Empowerment’: Programma Bolsa Familia
The presidencies of Henrique Cardoso and Ignacio Lula and their administrations along with that of Dilma Rousseff had embraced a more integrated approach by bundling disparate programs and targeting benefits to families in extreme poverty. Conditional cash transfers represented a modest share of overall government expenditure and reinforced the trend of incremental expenditure rather than substantial reallocation of public benefits. It began with the innovative program of Bolsa Escola in Brazil. Aiming to enhance educational attainment and alleviate poverty at the same time, the Bolsa Escola (School Income Subsidy) was introduced and was arguably one of the best programs. The Bolsa Escola gave a small income subsidy to needy families, provided that they kept their children aged 7–14 in school. The program’s design addressed the opportunity costs of education, discouraged child labor, and created a demand for education on the part of the parents. The Lula government subsequently folded the federal Bolsa Escola together with other poverty alleviation programs to form the Bolsa Familia, which is based on a single registry of poor families (Hunter and Sugiyama, 2009, n. 2, p. 46). Advocating the PBF, Wendy Hunter and Stugiyama point out, the Brazilian democracy has succeeded in adding new programs to the social agenda that provide minimal social protection. “These programmes further basic education and health among marginal populations as long as they are kept within reasonable financial limits and do not upset important stakeholders. A key factor in the Bolsa’s political appeal is that it does not challenge enshrined social protections to the upper and middle classes” (Hunter and Sugiyama, 2009, n. 2, p. 46).
The Brazilian government’s strategy to positively impact on the lives of so many women through initiative such as Bolsa Familia, Brazil without Extreme Poverty, the National Documentation Program, My House, My Life, Brasil Carinoso, Light for All, Social Assistance Network, Pro-Gender and Racial Equality in Business Program, Continuous Loan Benefits,