Minister Luiz Marinho opens G20 Employment Meeting

The 2nd Employment Working Group Technical Meeting of the G20 Brazil started today (27), held in Brasília (DF). The Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, kicked off the activities, which will be guided by the theme of Gender Equality and the Promotion of Diversity in the World of Work. According to Marinho, Brazil wants to foster cooperation between the largest economies on the planet to promote decent work, expressed in best practices in public policies that can be shared and incorporated. “Brazil believes that social inclusion and the fight against poverty and hunger must permeate all government policies, especially labor policies". Marinho stated that the themes chosen by Brazil are aligned with the challenges of an increasingly technological and globalized world of work. “The themes defined by President Lula, social inclusion and the fight against poverty and hunger; sustainable development and energy transition; and finally, the reform of global governance institutions, are themes that permeate the world of work in direct way”, he argued. The representatives of India, Sumita Dawra, and South Africa, Kgomotso Abram Letoaba, who participate in the G20 organization, together with Brazil (troika), also welcomed the participants. Sumita said she hopes the debates in Brazil are going to be very rich and fruitful, repeating what happened in the G20 edition in her country, in 2023. “It is important to highlight that the topics chosen by Brazil, which deal with gender equality and diversity in the world of work, are the most urgent agendas today”, he declared.

Kgomotso Abram Letoaba, from South Africa, said the G20 Brazil is one of the most important for the dissemination of an agenda that allows effective changes in the inclusion on the labor market. “We have a key role in driving the necessary changes in the world of work,” said Kgomotso.

Diversity – Marinho stated that the Brazilian government fights discrimination of any kind in the workplace, be it gender, race, age, physical condition, nationality, belief, political/ideological option or sexual identity. “Discrimination, in addition to maintaining salary distortions, unbalances hiring and career opportunities”, highlighted Marinho. In his opinion, promoting diversity in the workplace is a means to promote justice. “At this specific point, we are very happy to be the first country to propose data collection related to the most diverse groups of people for the report of this working group”, he stated.

Troika – This is the G20 troika system and is the structure to conduct the group’s functioning. Troika is composed of the current, previous and next G20 presidencies. The three members cooperate with each other in preparing the G20 Summit. During the

Brazilian presidency, the country will work closely with India (2023 Presidency) and South Africa (2025 Presidency).

Repository - The objective of the Employment Working Group is to create a repository of workers' social protection policies and to propose enrollment of member and guest countries for the Equal Pay International Coalition, an initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Launched in 2018, the initiative aims to increase and equalize women's salaries compared to men around the world.

Be up on G20 Employment Working Group agenda

Wednesday, 27th

9:30am – 9:50am Opening session, Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho

9:50am – 12:00pm Session 1 – Gender Equality and Promotion of Diversity in the World of Work Head of Diversity and Social Participation at MTE, Anatalina Lourenço da Silva; UNESCO: The Weight of Words: presentation on Gender Language and Participation and Positioning of Women in the Labor Market; OECD: presentation on the job market for LGBTQI and racial issues; Center for Research on Entrepreneurship in G20 Economies: Women, technology and enterprise;

1:30pm – 4:00pm Session 2 – Social Security and Gender Equality Minister Carlos Lupi (Social Security); ISSA and ILO: Gender and Social Security; OECD: the use of parental leave; Countries invited to the table: Germany, Türkiye, Japan, France and the United Arab Emirates;

Thursday, 28th

9:30am – 12:00pm Session 3 – The Impact of Care Policies on Gender Equality in the World of Work: Laís Wendel Abramo, national secretary of Care and Family (MDS); Rosane da Silva, National Secretary of Economic Autonomy and Care Policy, Ministry of Women; ILO presentation; Ana Amélia Camarano, coordinator of Studies and Research on Gender Equality, Race and Generations (Ipea)

1:30pm – 4:00pm Session 4 – Equal Pay - Dercylete Lisboa Loureiro, Labor inspector, Labor Inspection Secretariat; Rosane da Silva, National Secretary of Economic Autonomy and Care Policy, Ministry of Women of Brazil; Maria Lucia Franca Pontes Vieira, coordinator of the Gender Working Group (IBGE); Countries invited to the table: Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Spain.

4:30pm – 6:30pm Session 5 – Equality in the World of Work; Paula Montagner, Undersecretary of Statistics and Labor Studies (MTE); - EPIC Presentation; IDB: The effects of AI on women’s working lives

6:30pm – 6:40pm Closing Session