Brazilian Congress approves equal pay for men and women in Brazil

Yesterday, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that obliges companies to have equal salaries between men and women when performing activities of equal value or of the same function.

The proposal was sent by the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in March and was approved with 325 votes in favor and 36 against. The text is now up fora vote in the Senate.

The employer who does not comply with the law will have to payan acceptablee equivalent to ten times the value of the new salary owed. In case of recidivism, the fine will be doubled.

Even with the payment of the fine, the person discriminated against may file a lawsuit for moral damages.

According to data from the state-owned Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), a woman earns, on average, 78 percent of a man’s income in Brazil.

In the case of black or mixed-race women, the percentage drops to less than half the salary of white men (46 percent).

One of the changes in the proposal is that the company is exempted from the equal pay requirement when it adopts, through collective bargaining, a wage and salary plan, a rule currently not provided for in the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT).

According to the bill, companies must submit reports so that inspectors can compare the amounts paid to men and women.

Other measures foreseen are the availability of specific channels for complaints.

The promotion and implementation of diversity and inclusion programs in the work environment through the training of managers, leaders, and employees on the issue of equity between men and women in the labor market, with measurement of results, and the promotion of training and education for women to enter, remain and move up in the labor market on equal terms with men.

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