Summit of the Republic had 1 woman for every 16 men – 03/07/2023 – Power

In almost 40 years of redemocratization in Brazil, the summit of the Republic had 66 men and only 4 women —a ratio of 16.5 to 1— and continues to this day to be commanded mostly by male representatives.

During this period, only Dilma Rousseff (PT) was elected President of the Republic, while seven men passed through the command of the Executive Branch. The petista still ended up being removed from office in 2016, after suffering an impeachment process more than two years before the end of her second term.

The Legislature has never had a woman as president of the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate since redemocratization — there were 18 and 15 occupants of the post, respectively, in that period, all men.

In the Judiciary, only 3 women —against 26 men— became ministers of the STF (Federal Supreme Court): Ellen Gracie, Cármen Lúcia and Rosa Weber. Appointments took place between 2001 and 2011.

The last two remain in court until today, with Rosa being the president of the court of 11 ministers and a female figure who clashes with the male predominance in the court and in the other Powers, under the command of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT/Presidency of the Republic), Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG/Senate) and Arthur Lira (PP-AL/Câmara).

Even in positions below the top of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, female underrepresentation remains.

In Congress, the scenario repeats that of 1985, when the two Houses elected only one woman to command positions on the board of directors. That year, Eunice Michiles—the country’s first female senator—was nominated for the Senate’s fourth secretary.

In 2023, senators ran out of space on the board of directors and only federal deputy Maria do Rosário (PT-RS) got one of the seven titular vacancies in the same structure in the Chamber. She will be the second secretary of the House.

One of the advances came at the end of last year, when Lula appointed the largest number of ministers in history and chose 11 women for the beginning of the government – ​​at the end of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) administration, there was only 1 woman among the 23 portfolios.

The situation, however, is still far from gender parity. Lula’s 11 female ministers are at a clear disadvantage on the Esplanada dos Ministérios and represent less than a third of the total of 37 ministers.

The José Sarney government began in 1985 with no women in his ministry. The first (and only) minister of management was Dorothea Werneck (Labor), appointed only in the last year of the mandate.

In the opinion of Claudia Costin, former Minister of Federal Administration and State Reform in the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) government, a model has been created over the years of what would be a competent professional to assume high positions —in which women and blacks most of the time they are not remembered.

The former minister considers that cultural changes “take time”, but claims that it is important to have pressure from society and what she classifies as the intentionality of the president himself and members of other Powers to change this situation.

“Lula concretely made an effort to nominate more women [no ministério]. And that should be natural. [Escolher] a black woman on the Supreme [Tribunal Federal] would be emblematic. It is not possible that we do not have renowned black jurists. I’m sure we have.”

The general coordinator of research at the National Observatory for Women in Politics, Ana Cláudia Oliveira, says that occupying positions of command is essential to change the culture of functioning of spaces of Power.

Linked to the Women’s Secretariat of the Chamber of Deputies, the Observatory has focused on women’s political activities at the federal, state and municipal levels.

For Ana Cláudia Oliveira, female participation in leadership positions not only causes a cultural change, but also has a practical effect: the inclusion of more women.

“When a woman is on the board of directors, she ends up having more voice to guide what will be voted on in plenary, for example. She has more voice to decide which women will occupy spaces in committees, work groups, parliamentary fronts”, he says.

Former senator Rose de Freitas was the first — and only — woman to win the vice-presidency of the Chamber of Deputies. The feat occurred in 2011, when, then deputy, she defeated her male colleagues who, according to her, were not used to seeing a woman on the board of directors.

“Women are sometimes harassed to give more space to men on the pretext that they are the majority. But they are not. They may be in the context of Congress, but in society they are not”, he says.

“Men have to understand that there is no real democracy if the woman is not there talking about the economy, social policies, agriculture, environmental issues”, he adds.

At the STJ (Superior Court of Justice), it was only in 1999 that a woman arrived at the court, with the appointment of Minister Eliana Calmon. Today, only 6 of the 33 vacancies are occupied by women.

For the president of the court, Maria Thereza de Assis Moura, the invisible barrier that still prevents women from accessing high posts in public administration is the result of a society that remains unequal.

The minister states that initiatives such as the policy to Incentive Female Participation in the Judiciary —implemented by the CNJ (National Council of Justice) in 2018 to increase the participation of women in leadership positions— is an important and concrete example for achieving gender equality , but more is needed.

“We need to take the next step: build opportunities and expand access to higher positions. Offer the same opportunities so that professionals who have identical qualifications and skills are recognized in the work environment. Changing this perspective changes the institution from within and serves as a example for everyone.”

Over almost 90 years of existence of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), only 8 women have passed through the court. Currently, of the 7 effective ministers, there is only 1 magistrate: Cármen Lúcia.

For the judge and former president of the AMB (Association of Brazilian Magistrates), Renata Gil, reaching the STF or STJ is even more difficult for women because they are usually excluded from the political environment where the names of the nominees are sewn.

“These choices are based not only on seniority criteria, but also on merit, social evaluation, which end up being hampered if the woman is not present in these spaces”, he says.

“We have difficulty including women on triple lists — from the OAB, from the Public Ministry. Women are excluded from this process and need to present themselves to be included, while men are naturally included.”