Equal pay: project reinforces women’s struggle, but implementation will be a challenge, say experts

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The government sent a bill to Congress that establishes salary equity as ‘mandatory’. In theory, wage difference is already prohibited by CLT. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sent to the National Congress this week a bill to guarantee equal remuneration for men and women who perform the same function. For specialists, the proposal strengthens the debate on wage inequality and is a step forward in women’s fight, but it should run into obstacles to be implemented, if it is approved by Congress. The bill establishes that equal pay for the exercise of the same function is “mandatory”. The text also provides that companies that do not comply with the rule will have to pay a fine equivalent to ten times the highest amount paid by the employer. In theory, the salary difference is already prohibited by the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT). In practice, however, this legal requirement is often not met. A survey by the consultancy IDados, based on the National Household Sample Survey by the IBGE, showed that women earn about 20% less than men in Brazil. And the wage gap between genders remains at this high level even when comparing workers with the same education and age profile and in the same occupation category. According to experts heard by g1, the bill, if approved by Congress, represents more a political demarcation of position and a reinforcement of the discourse against misogyny than a practical advance for equal pay. Equal pay project: companies that fail to comply will be fined 10 times the highest salary paid; understand Development of public policies The specialists actually defend the development of public policies to combat the causes of the problem – such as the creation of 24-hour day care centers and the expansion of the right to paternity leave, a benefit given to workers with a formal contract and civil servants federal public officials to take time off work to care for their newborn child. For Vanessa Dumont, a labor lawyer and partner at Caputo Bastos e Serra Advogados, the bill is “commendable” for making it clear that the State is concerned about gender inequality and that it will consider policies that reduce the problem, but the measure “alone will not be effective”. “The problem of wage discrimination does not have a single cause. We need public policies, such as resolving the issue of parental leave and daycare centers. We know that many women have no one to leave their children with and this ends up being an obstacle to hiring” , explains the lawyer. The professor at the Brazilian School of Public Administration of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (EBAP/FGV) Carmen Migueles reinforces this understanding: “This law [projeto de lei], in fact, is a political demarcation of position. Things that are coming now and that make sense are the completion of day care centers. Lula released money for the works, but we are not having a discussion about the types of daycare centers either. We needed, for example, 24-hour daycare centers”. The equal pay bill is part of a package of measures released by the Lula government on International Women’s Day, March 8. Another initiative announced was the resumption of work on 1,189 daycare centers that were paralyzed. and remuneration of employees by companies with more than 20 employees. In the evaluation of the lawyer specialized in labor law Cintia Fernandes, the difficulty in proving the difference in wages between people who perform the same function is, today, the main “obstacle” in the case of women who enter the Labor Court with evidence of wage discrimination. Therefore, according to the lawyer, to provide transparency wages could facilitate “the realization of women’s rights”. “The main proof she has is precisely demonstrating that there is another person who, although performing the same activity, has a higher salary than her, the documentary evidence and which can be increased by testimonial evidence”, explained Cintia Fernandes. On the other hand, Juliana Inhaz, an economist at Insper, explains that the salary can be determined by a set of characteristics, such as education, experience and trajectory of the employee in the company. Therefore, according to her, people who are in the same function could receive different remuneration. The expert also warns of the difficulty of monitoring the veracity of the information provided by companies. “It’s complicated for you to be able to properly monitor companies even more in Brazil […] Worse than not having a law is having a law and not being able to enforce it”, says the economist. LGDP Another obstacle raised by the specialists is how to guarantee the transparency of salaries respecting the General Data Protection Law (LGPD). “Like the state will it know about the wage bill of companies without violating the General Data Protection Law and individual rights?”, asked professor Carmen Migueles. The LGPD began to take effect in 2020. The device – inspired by a European model – established rules on treatments of sensitive personal data; liability and compensation for damages, and processing of information by the government. According to Carmen, equating this issue will be a challenge for the National Congress. As it is a bill, the proposal will need the approval of deputies and senators to take effect. How to file a complaint today? Lawyer Cintia Fernandes explains that, in cases of suspected wage disparity, women can go to court even without proof documentary. This is because, during the processing of the labor action, the company can be notified to present the list of employees and the respective paychecks. “She does not need to have this document first to file a lawsuit. She can make the request in the wage equalization action itself”, explains the lawyer. In addition to calling the Labor Court, women can file complaints with the Public Ministry. in defense of gender equality

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