Women occupy 34% of senior leadership positions in the public sector

The participation of women in senior leadership positions in the federal public administration increased from 29% in December 2022 to 34% in April 2023, which represents growth of 17% in four months. According to the Personnel Observatory of the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, in April 2019, the percentage was even lower, 26%. The Minister of Public Services Management and Innovation, Esther Dweck – Wilson Dias/Agência Brasi The data were announced on a social network by Minister Esther Dweck. As a matter of fact, I clarify that in the Lula government, we increased the participation of women in leadership positions. There is still a long way to go for gender equality. For this reason, the @LulaOficial government has been working on measures to encourage access and permanence of female leaders in senior management. pic.twitter.com/HuAKtXScKQ — Esther Dweck (@edweck_rj) May 18, 2023 The minister highlighted that there is an increase in participation, both in comparison with the last month of the last government, and in comparison with the same month of the first year of management last. According to the minister, the increase is due to the stimulus to expand access and, above all, to the permanence of female leaders in senior public management, so that they represent the Brazilian population more faithfully. Senior leadership positions in the federal public sector relate to positions such as coordination, advisory, board, superintendence, executive secretary and ministries. In these positions, the remuneration of executive commissioned functions and positions ranges from R$ 11,306.90 to R$ 18,469.94. Anti-violence actions The advisor for Social Participation and Diversity at the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Daniela Gorayeb, pointed out that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, since the period of operation of the Transition Cabinet, signaled female empowerment, when he appointed 11 state ministers. Daniela also points to the creation of the Ministries of Women and Racial Equality and the national secretariats for the Rights of LGBTQIA+ and National for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, both of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, as advances to reduce gender inequalities. For Daniela, this values ​​female representation. “Representativeness has a symbolic and concrete effect. The presence of these people, who are able to represent the various demands, direct future spaces, innovate public policies and will be more aligned and closer to the real demands of society.” The federal government also adopted actions to combat gender violence, such as the creation of a working group to develop a policy to combat moral and sexual harassment and discrimination in public administration, under the coordination of the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services. And, to make environments safe for women to fully exercise their activities, the Comptroller General of the Union (GCU) published the Lilac Guide, with guidelines for preventing and dealing with moral and sexual harassment and discrimination in the federal government, in addition to a protocol to report incidents of this type. Another measure was the launch, in April, of the Federal Government Personnel Observatory, a tool that can be accessed by any citizen to monitor and compare male and female presence in high and middle leadership positions, occupant profiles (age, marital status and schooling), number of people with disabilities and black and indigenous women in public leadership, in addition to statistical data and information on public servants’ remuneration tables. To train female leaders and expand the number of senior managers in the federal public administration, the National School of Public Administration (Enap) also offers training courses. Barriers and challenges Daniela highlights that discrimination and violence against women are structural in Brazilian society, and not restricted to the federal public administration. “We are, regrettably, unacceptably, disqualified and inferiorized in our way of acting because we are women. It is a recurring attempt to discredit our ability to work”. Among the consequences, she points out harassment and any other form of discrimination, which “undermine safety, undermine self-esteem and can even make women sick”. As a response to ensure effective changes, she defends the federal government’s incentives that expand the entry of women into senior public management and the channels for blocking harassment, discrimination and other violence against women. In parallel to the government’s actions, Daniela cites the association between social movements and the three powers for concrete changes. “For us to move forward, not just raising awareness in society, but with concrete actions towards equity.” Care In addition to the expectation of the federal public administration, Daniela highlighted that the federal government is concerned with gender inequality in domestic work and in the care of the elderly, children and people with disabilities. In general, these tasks are not remunerated, which would accentuate discrimination and socio-economic inequalities. To discuss ways out, Daniela told Agência Brasil that, on Monday (22), the first meeting of the Interministerial Working Group for the Elaboration of the National Care Policy will take place, under the coordination of the Ministries of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combating Hunger and Women. The construction of a National Care Policy is treated as one of the priorities of the Lula government’s social agenda, highlighted Daniela Gorayeb.


Agência Brasil