Women are the majority, even if by a small margin, among small Brazilian merchants who use e-commerce platforms to sell their products. In 2025, they represented 51.8% of this group, compared to 48.2% of men. This data contrasts with the overall profile of merchants, among whom women were in the minority.
In total, about 5 million Brazilians worked as self-employed or were employers in the commerce sector. Of these, only 210 thousand, or 4.2%, used digital platforms to sell their products. The breakdown considers employers and self-employed workers whose main activity was commerce, excluding vehicles and motorcycles.
Among merchants who did not use digital platforms, women represented 49.6% and men, 50.4%, reversing the proportion observed among e-commerce sellers.
The data are part of the third edition of the survey on work through digital platforms, which was released by IBGE. The survey was conducted in partnership with Unicamp and the Public Ministry of Labor and provides a portrait of who uses applications and digital platforms to earn a living in the country.
