04/12/2020

By André Jerusalem

The modern business structure, as we know it, has a recent origin in contemporary history. However, it is certain that this structure did not emerge from nothing, but rather is the result of a historical construction, which carries within itself the social relations and systems of cooperation that have evolved over time, as well as the uses, customs and beliefs used and generally accepted by society. In this sense, we observe that the historical construction of business administrations is a reflection of people and their time, and that the coordination of labor and work did not arise from the need for work itself, but rather from a need for companies and their owners to increase capital and profit.[1]

In the same sense, the growth of women's participation in political and social life is also a recent phenomenon in the history of most modern societies. For example, Brazil allowed women to vote only after the publication of Decree No. 21,076 on February 24, 1932 (Electoral Code), through which the Electoral Court, the secret ballot and the national women's vote were instituted. Until then, women were prohibited from voting and, obviously, from running for any elective office.

It is curious to imagine that the Lei Áurea, one of the most iconic Brazilian laws, was published by a woman, but this case was precisely the exception that proves the rule, since according to historians, Princess Isabel was part of a group of women typical of the upper classes of nineteenth-century Brazil, who passively exercised the roles that patriarchal society taught them. Roles such as daughter, fiancée, wife, mother and regent.[2], and which in various layers of Brazilian society is understood as standard to this day.

Still, despite efforts to ensure the participation of more women within the corporate environment, there are still major challenges in ensuring that the most important spheres within the business structure are made up of more women, and the issue of gender equality must be constantly revisited and studied so that these objectives can be achieved.

As we will see below, although women currently account for 43,83% of the total economically active population in the country and on average have more years of education than men[3], their work and participation still tends to be less valued than that of men. In addition, there is a gap in the configuration between genders in corporate boards and boards, making this topic also part of the ESG concept (Environmental, Social and Governance), which is currently used to define companies that have concerns about the socio-environmental conduct and corporate responsibility that they have in their internal environment, as well as in the business they carry out.

Currently, the Corporate Governance Best Practices Code published by the IBGC – Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance, states that for the board of directors to perform better, the body must have diversity (in a broad sense) in its composition. However, what can be seen in practice, according to data from the IBGC itself, is that currently the profile of directors in companies with shares traded on the stock exchange is quite homogeneous and predominantly male (also white and heterosexual), with 92.8% of the members of these companies' boards of directors being men. The same scenario also exists in fiscal councils, where female participation is less than 9%, according to the same survey.

The importance of greater diversity goes beyond the need to reaffirm equal opportunities between men and women; it is also good business. Socially responsible investments are on the rise, and although there is no concrete study on whether such investments outperform companies that do not have such concerns, there is an increasing number of investors who are concerned about maintaining their investments in companies that aim to combine ensuring equal access and opportunities between genders with profit.

[1] MOTTA, Fernando C.P. . Bureaucracy and self-management. Sao Paulo, Brasiliense, 1981.

[2] JUNIOR, Robert Daibert. Gender and politics: a (foreign) look at Princess Isabel. Rev. Estud. Fem. vol.11 no.2. Florianópolis, 2003.

[3] Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) – IBGE