Teacher pay inequalities in municipalities of Minas Gerais

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the remuneration of teachers in municipal public schools in Minas Gerais, exploring its determinants, configurations, and territorial distribution. The research sought to investigate the existence of wage disparities among teachers across different mesoregions of the state, and how these inequalities relate to differences in teachers' personal (gender and race) and professional characteristics (education level, years of service, employment type, and the school stage they work in). We were particularly interested in whether teachers in similar conditions (in terms of regional, personal, and professional factors) receive unequal salaries. The findings reveal the persistence of significant pay disparities, even in a context where municipal education plans, which included policies aimed at teacher recognition and the reduction of salary inequalities among basic education teachers, were in effect. Female early childhood education teachers, who self-identify as Black and work in less developed regions of the state, often receive lower salaries compared to their male counterparts, who self-identify as white and teach in the later years of elementary education, despite both being employed in public education networks.