In the context of the International Women's Day celebrated on the 8th of March every year around the world, it is important to highlight the existing gender inequalities within the country, particularly in the workplace. In Brazil, women are less valued in their jobs, face more difficulties in accessing the labor market and in professional growth, in addition to being subject to a labor legislation that amplifies inequality.
Brazil has made much improvement in many different areas. The country has closed both the educational and health gender gaps. There is perfect gender parity in literacy rate (93%) and primary education (95%), and a larger proportion of women than men are enrolled in both secondary and tertiary education, where there are 140 female students for every 100 male students. Furthermore, women can expect to live five years more than men in good health.
Nevertheless, the gap to be bridged is still large: Brazil has one of Latin America’s largest gender gaps. It ranks 22nd out of 25 countries in the region. From academic studies to company female empowerment practices to public policies that expand opportunities for women, Brazilian businesses show increased awareness of the importance of finding balanced gender participation, despite having the same educational level, Brazilian women earn 25 percent less than men. Only 16 percent of executive directors are women.
In politics, female candidates in the 2018 elections amounted to 30.7 percent of the total requests for registrations, but few of these women won a chance to take office. Political empowerment represents, therefore, the biggest drag on Brazil’s overall performance; with a score of 13.3%, the country ranks 104th in the world. As of June 2019, only two positions in the 22-member cabinet were held by women (122nd). Additionally, women represent only 18% of the members of the parliament (114th).
These figures make us reflect on the importance of restoring gender equality within the country. Last February, a meeting took place in Lisbon in partnership with the European Union Delegation to Brazil, in the framework of the European Union-Brazil dialogues to discuss issues related to gender equality and the promotion of human rights.
One of the issues discussed during the meeting emphasized an interesting survey carried out by the National Council of the Prosecution Service (CNMP) on the participation of women in justice-related careers in Brazil, which revealed an inequality in the workforce of institutions linked to the Federal Prosecution Service and the Justice System.
The project seeks to promote greater gender equality in the Brazilian judicial system by encouraging the exchange of good practices. The methodology is based on a comparative approach with the European Union and its member states.
Regional Conferences of State Prosecutors will be held in each one of the regions of Brazil to discuss gender equality in the justice system within the scope of the EU - Brazil Sector Dialogues.
The goal is to learn more about how EU institutions operate in this area and visit countries that have successfully promoted gender equality in their justice systems. At the end of the project, a study on the Brazilian and European context will be published.
Sob supervisão de Victor Hugo Brandão
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