Law 14.457 of 09/21/2022 instituted the Programa + Mulheres (+ Women Program), aiming to promote the insertion and maintenance of women in the labor market, by stimulating professional learning and support measures for the care of small children, the so-called early childhood parenthood. Another advance is that it established measures to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace. The new legislation is welcome in all segments, but especially in the health sector, where women represent 65% of the more than six million professionals working, according to estimates by the National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries (Conasems). 

Law 14.457 can be accessed in full at this link. ABIMED points out to its members that, according to article 23, companies that have CIPA (now called the Internal Commission for Accident Prevention and Harassment) have until March 21st, 2023 to implement the following measures:  

• Inclusion of rules of conduct regarding sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the company’s internal rules, with wide dissemination of their content to male and female employees; 

• Establishing procedures for receiving and following up on complaints, for investigating the facts, and, when applicable, for applying administrative sanctions to those directly or indirectly responsible for acts of sexual harassment and violence, ensuring the anonymity of the complainant, without prejudice to the applicable legal procedures; 
• Inclusion of issues related to preventing and fighting sexual harassment and other forms of violence in CIPA’s activities and practices;  
• Carrying out, at least every 12 (twelve) months, training, orientation, and awareness actions for male and female employees of all hierarchical levels of the company on topics related to violence, harassment, equality, and diversity in the workplace, in accessible and appropriate formats that present maximum effectiveness of such actions. 

In this process, companies should: (i) review internal policies, (ii) set procedures for complaints, (iii) include the topic in CIPA activities, and (iv) establish the flow of periodic training on the subject. 

The program also created the Emprega + Mulher Seal, which aims to recognize companies that implement measures for the provision of day-care centers and pre-schools to meet the needs of their male and female employees, and employers that have good practices for the insertion and maintenance of women in the labor market. In this way, the initiative supports the mother’s role in the early childhood of her children and also qualifies women in strategic areas, contributing to their professional ascension and their return to work after the end of their maternity leave.