Brazil approves the law of equal pay for men and women

First modification: 06/02/2023 – 01:09

Women and men who perform the same professional functions must receive the same salary, under penalty of fines for the company. This is what the bill approved this Thursday by the Brazilian Senate promotes.

The proposal had been promoted by the progressive president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and modifies the Consolidation of Labor Laws, establishing the obligation to pay the same to a woman and a man who do the same work. The Consolidation of Labor Laws dates from 1943 and brings together all labor legislation.

The companies that violate this law could face administrative fines equivalent to ten times the value of the new salary of the discriminated employee, in addition to paying the salary differences. Companies must follow transparency and remuneration mechanisms in order to ensure that the standard is complied with.

In addition, in the event of proven wage discrimination based on race, ethnicity, origin or age, the employer will also be penalized with a fine.

“Now, as Minister of Women’s Affairs, I have the opportunity to monitor compliance with the Law on Equal Pay between men and women. A fight that we have been waging for more than 35 years and that will finally cease to be just a dream”, Cida Gonçalves congratulated himself on Twitter.

‘Lula’ and the fight for gender equality

The proposal was one of the progressive leader’s promises when he came to power last October. He who was already at the head of Brazil between 2003 and 2010, had focused his 2022 electoral campaign on the commitment to gender equality, the fight against machismo and domestic violence.

On May 1, on International Labor Day, Lula said of his initiative that it aimed at “for the first time, without commas or points, women earn the same salary as men.”

“After millennia of existence”, women continue to be treated in the workplace as “if they were inferior (…) the lack of respect towards women at work is a shame”, the president had affirmed.

The final project was presented a month ago by deputy Jack Rocha, from the pro-government Workers’ Party (PT) and was approved by a large majority of the Chamber of Deputies.

“It is another step with which we advance in the confrontation of (gender) inequalities in the work environment, which deepened during the Covid pandemic,” the deputy said then.

In Brazil, although women are generally more educated than men – 19.4% of women complete university studies, compared to 15.1% of men-, they receive an average salary equivalent to 77.7% that of men in the same function. In addition, they hold fewer management positions, only 37.4% of the total.

Finally, Brazil is known for its high rate of gender violence. According to a study carried out by the Brazilian Public Safety Forum, in 2022, 14 women were attacked every minute, receiving punches, slaps or kicks.

with EFE