PL of equal pay does not solve, say specialists – 08/03/2023 – Market

The PL (bill bill) on equal pay between men and women that was presented by the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) this Wednesday (8) will not solve the problem of disparity in pay and still runs the risk of harming women in the labor market.

The assessment is made by economists interviewed by the Sheetwho say that Brazil already has legislation prohibiting wage discrimination based on gender —which is not enough to prevent companies from paying men better than women in the same function.

Creating one more law on the subject is innocuous, say experts, who advocate the creation of public policies to combat the causes of the problem.

The PL signed by Lula says that equal pay for exercising the same function is mandatory. 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.

For Cecilia Machado, professor at EPGE (Brazilian School of Economics and Finance) at FGV and columnist for Sheetthe project is redundant, given that the Brazilian legal framework, including the Constitution and CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws), already prohibits discrimination.

However, the main criticism she makes is about effectiveness. According to Machado, this type of legislation has been discussed for almost 70 years, with international experience showing that it does not work

“One of the reasons is that it is very difficult to measure discrimination. Just because two people in the same occupation receive different salaries does not mean that it is discrimination”, he says.

She argues that remuneration can vary due to differences in the worker’s education, professional experience, and the function performed —having different attributions and responsibilities, for example.

“People accumulate countless dimensions that are not just the same occupation. They accumulate different trajectories, different skills… Even within the same occupation, they can perform differently.”

One of the problems she sees in the proposed bill is the possibility that something well-intentioned ends up harming women.

“If the legislation is taken literally, which is what we are always afraid of in Brazil, it could backfire. Firms, in case of any legal uncertainty about how this will be evaluated, may prefer not to to hire [mulheres]”, it says.

This was one of the points rejected by the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet. After an event to publicize the measures, she said that the action will not reduce the hiring of women, classifying the criticism as misogynistic.

“If any employer is discriminating against women, if it is a factor for them not to hire women, there will be no shortage of serious, responsible companies to hire women”, stated Tebet.

Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, a researcher in the area of ​​Applied Economics at FGV Ibre, ponders that the possibility of the plan backfiring does not just involve companies that “want to discriminate”.

Depending on how the law will be interpreted and applied by the Labor Court, the risk perceived by companies can be a demotivating factor, even if the company does everything right.

“People with the same function should earn the same thing. This is well clarified, there was no need for a new law. The new law is creating clear fines, but this can, depending on how it is applied, more hinder than help” , it says.

In his evaluation, the bill leaves some doubts that will need to be clarified, mainly on how to measure what the same function is.

“Managers of the same store or the same bank, but who work in agencies with different revenues, should earn the same amount?”, he asks. “Basically, the work is not the same, and the law needs to specify these details”, he adds.

Machado points out that the wage gap between women and men is linked to specific gender issues, such as motherhood. Therefore, policies that seek equity should look at the causes, not just the consequences.

That’s what Deborah Bizarria, coordinator of Public Policies for Livres and columnist for Sheet.

For her, the government has good intentions, but part of a “factory” mentality, where it is simpler to verify equal functions and, therefore, punish those who do not pay equal wages.

In the modern economy, he says, the labor market makes it more difficult to verify inequalities. Roles are no longer delimited like in a factory.

The ideal, argues Bizarria, is to focus on the cause of the pay gap. “We have a very serious problem, which is the weight of motherhood on women. They are the ones who bear the cost of leave and the difficulty of returning to the job market”, she says.

According to her, there are public policies that help to circumvent this, such as parental leave. Solving the daycare queue is another point.

“These are problems that are the cause of gender inequalities and that cannot be solved with a fine”, he says.

Salary transparency can be more efficient

The PL presented this Wednesday will still be analyzed by Congress, but it also determines that companies with 20 or more employees publish salary transparency reports, allowing the objective comparison between remuneration received by women and men.

According to the text, an act by the Minister of Labor will regulate the matter.

For Machado, from FGV, measures like this are positive and more effective than fines. “First, because they are knowledge for the workers, and because this verification of what is right and wrong is not the judge who does it, it is society”, he says.