Around 10 years after Brazil introduced quotas for people of African ancestry in its universities, the integration of people of colour in the corporate world is on the up. However, the issue remains a significant challenge for human resources chiefs in the country. Only 8% of the largest companies in Brazil say they have dedicated programmes to promote racial equality among workers.
In Brazil, 52.8% of the active population is made up of people of colour. In sociological studies and in the census, such individuals are referred to as “pretos” if they are black and as “pardos” if they are mixed-race. Meanwhile around 1% of the population is of Asian descent, while 0.4% are of an indigenous background. According to a study conducted by the Instituto Ethos, which aims to help companies improve human resources management in a socially-responsible manner, only 34.4% of employees in the 500 largest companies in Brazil (both national and international) in 2016 are people of colour, therefore indicating that the proportion of white people in such companies is not representative of the country’s demographics.
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