In order to contribute to equality between women and men, a bill presented in the Chamber of Deputies proposes that companies with more than 200 employees must report quarterly on actions aimed at reducing the wage gap among its workers.
According to the initiative promoted by the radical Karina Banfi, Every three months, organizations must submit to the Ministry of Labor the number of female and male people who work under their supervision; the tasks carried out by the workers and workers; and the temporary dedication of both groups.
In addition, this report must contain data on the remuneration received by the workers and workers; the amount of performance bonuses or other benefits received, whatever the cause; and the educational level and hierarchical level they hold.
For its part, the Ministry of Labor, which is stipulated to be the enforcement authority, will be in charge of “making a table of positions, published annually, at the federal level, on the wage gap between women and men, as well as labor segregation indices and the control and follow-up of the information provided by employers”.
Among other functions, The labor billboard must prepare semi-annual and annual reports, publish the information provided by employers on a monthly basis and create “a system of incentives and penalties.” Finally, it provides for campaigns and awareness programs on pay equity.
“Although this information can be revealed through public statistics provided by ANSeS, AFIP and INDEC, obtaining this data directly from the companies contributes to generating a paradigmatic change,” said the deputy in the arguments of the project.
Deputy Banfi’s project seeks to force companies to report on the salary and tasks of men and women.
Corporate responsibility and equal pay
In dialogue with iProfessional, Karina Banfi explained that the initiative reaches both the public and private sectors, particularly in companies that have “an important installed capacity”. “The idea is to promote, through advertising, awareness of the need for there not to be differences in the same jobs, whether it is covered by a man or a woman,” he said.
The deputy stressed that information on “any type of incentives or prizes that are awarded” is contemplated since “many times they leave women aside because they have not had full assistance, because they have care dutiesso they have had to take some type of leave to care for their children, something that men do not, and perhaps they have an award for this that positively affects the salary of men and not that of women”.
“Mainly, the objective is to generate awareness based on corporate responsibility the promotion of wage equity and the empowerment of all genders in the same jobs,” added the Buenos Aires native.
Salary equality between men and women: a 70-year challenge for Argentina
In the bill’s arguments, it was noted that “the gap not only occurs because women perform the same tasks for different salaries, which is detrimental to the Labor Contract Law and the National Constitution, but also because women are victims of discrimination when accessing employment and the glass ceiling that is imposed on them”.
According to the report “Women at work – Trends 2019”, by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the global wage gap between women and men is 19%, that is, women earn 81% of what men earn. “This number does not discriminate if women and men work the same number of hours and occupy the same positions. This shows us that the gap is not only due to the fact that the same task is paid differently, but also because women encounter obstacles to accessing hierarchical positions -of higher remuneration- or they must relegate working hours to take care of tasks, unpaid work,” emphasized the legislator, who was accompanied by 14 of her peers.
In addition, according to international figures, the “Global Gender Gap Index 2020”, prepared by the World Economic Forum, out of a total of 149 countries in their progress towards gender parity, Argentina is ranked number 30.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, Argentina is among the 30 countries with the most progress in wage equality.
“Although in recent years there has been great progress in terms of gender equality between women and men, if current trends prevail, it will take more than 70 years to achieve equal pay according to the aforementioned ILO report,” it was asserted.
When defending her proposal, the Banfi deputy mentioned that there is an “international precedent in the legislation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, through the law called “gender pay gap reporting” (report on the gender pay gap). This rule similarly establishes the obligation that weighs on companies with more than 250 employees to report on the salaries and bonuses that women and men receive.”
