Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020

Household indebtedness is a phenomenon that cuts across capitalist economies. Women and men face different challenges. The cross-cutting nature of this event can be best understood by an in-depth analysis of social and economic factors contributing to a greater predisposition to situations of immi...

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Main Authors: Susana SANTOS, Mara VICENTE, Mariana FRANÇA GOUVEIA, João Pedro PINTO-FERREIRA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Portucalense 2025-07-01
Series:Revista Jurídica Portucalense
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.rcaap.pt/juridica/article/view/41988
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author Susana SANTOS
Mara VICENTE
Mariana FRANÇA GOUVEIA
João Pedro PINTO-FERREIRA
author_facet Susana SANTOS
Mara VICENTE
Mariana FRANÇA GOUVEIA
João Pedro PINTO-FERREIRA
author_sort Susana SANTOS
collection DOAJ
description Household indebtedness is a phenomenon that cuts across capitalist economies. Women and men face different challenges. The cross-cutting nature of this event can be best understood by an in-depth analysis of social and economic factors contributing to a greater predisposition to situations of imminent insolvency. By developing a statistical analysis of a sample of 641 court decisions in insolvency proceedings from 2011 to 2020 in Portugal, this article aims to explore how women and men are affected by the elaboration of different debt profiles. Our data suggests that women are particularly vulnerable to economic difficulty. Gender inequality in working practices and salaries, unemployment, divorce, health conditions, and the sexual division of domestic and childcare work are phenomena that condition women's ability to pay their debts, making them more exposed to the possibility of defaulting on their loans. The study concludes that gender is an explanatory factor in personal insolvency.
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Universidade Portucalense
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series Revista Jurídica Portucalense
spelling doaj-art-bba50425751c401490daeb6a2d13f83b2025-08-20T03:34:45ZengUniversidade PortucalenseRevista Jurídica Portucalense2183-57992183-57052025-07-0113810.34625/issn.2183-2705(38)2025.ic-8Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020Susana SANTOS0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5225-6671Mara VICENTE1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1800-3798Mariana FRANÇA GOUVEIA2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3104-5618João Pedro PINTO-FERREIRA3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3258-1896IscteIscteUniversidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de DireitoUniversidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Direito Household indebtedness is a phenomenon that cuts across capitalist economies. Women and men face different challenges. The cross-cutting nature of this event can be best understood by an in-depth analysis of social and economic factors contributing to a greater predisposition to situations of imminent insolvency. By developing a statistical analysis of a sample of 641 court decisions in insolvency proceedings from 2011 to 2020 in Portugal, this article aims to explore how women and men are affected by the elaboration of different debt profiles. Our data suggests that women are particularly vulnerable to economic difficulty. Gender inequality in working practices and salaries, unemployment, divorce, health conditions, and the sexual division of domestic and childcare work are phenomena that condition women's ability to pay their debts, making them more exposed to the possibility of defaulting on their loans. The study concludes that gender is an explanatory factor in personal insolvency. https://revistas.rcaap.pt/juridica/article/view/41988insolvencypersonal insolvencygenderhousehold debtdebtors' profiles
spellingShingle Susana SANTOS
Mara VICENTE
Mariana FRANÇA GOUVEIA
João Pedro PINTO-FERREIRA
Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
Revista Jurídica Portucalense
insolvency
personal insolvency
gender
household debt
debtors' profiles
title Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
title_full Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
title_fullStr Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
title_full_unstemmed Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
title_short Is Insolvency Gendered? An analysis of personal debtors’ profiles in Portugal, 2011-2020
title_sort is insolvency gendered an analysis of personal debtors profiles in portugal 2011 2020
topic insolvency
personal insolvency
gender
household debt
debtors' profiles
url https://revistas.rcaap.pt/juridica/article/view/41988
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