At the Full Court session on March 3^rd, the president of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), Minister Bruno Dantas, made an official announcement in honor of International Women's Day. The statement celebrates the date and highlights the TCU's recent initiatives to promote gender equity in the Court. Among them is the signing of Regulation-TCU 67/2023, instituted on the same day, which regulates appointment for leadership positions at the strategic and tactical level in the Federal Court of Accounts to maintain gender proportionality. 

In the communication, Dantas points out that the date, more than a reason to celebrate, is an opportunity to reflect on gender inequality and violence against women. The president also highlighted the creation of the Audit Division of Equity and Human Rights Policies, which proposed the supervision of public policies aimed at promoting gender equality. 

Another relevant initiative was the determination to comply with gender parity on the selection board of the last public service examination for the Federal Auditor of External Control. "All this confirms the Court's commitment to value the dedicated and, above all, competent staff of this Court who, in a delicate, strong, and selfless way, reconcile work, social life, and family,"’ the president states in the communication. 

The letter mentions the attorney general, Cristina Machado da Costa e Silva, currently the only woman among the TCU authorities. The guideline to increase the number of women on leadership positions was established by Minister Ana Arraes and was maintained by President Bruno Dantas. During the previous administration, the percentage of women holding the FC-5 and FC-6 positions increased from 12.24% to 28.87%. Currently, women occupy 30.14% of the strategic leadership positions in TCU departments.

Read here the full statement for International Women's Day

Promoting equality is a commitment from TCU 

The initiative was conceived based on a series of commitments from the TCU and the federal government to confront gender inequality. The gender and nondiscrimination policy of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) includes changes in the internal rules of supreme audit institutions that encourage the integration of women and under-represented groups in all positions. The goal is to ensure, in the case of hierarchical and leadership positions, parity and/or representation of the general staff. 

The measure is also in line with the Beijing Declaration, which recommends the adoption of measures to ensure women's equal access to power structures and the decision-making process, through balance targets in government bodies. The posts of secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, external control secretary, secretary, chief auditor, chief of counsel, legal counsel, and director-general are considered leadership positions of strategic level in the TCU. 

The measure is also in line with the Beijing Declaration, which recommends the adoption of measures to ensure women's equal access to power structures and the decision-making process through balance targets in government bodies. The secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, head of audit departments, chief of counsel, legal counsel, and director-general are considered leadership positions at the strategic level in the TCU. 

The Technical Committee of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion of the Department of Personnel Management is responsible for monitoring the percentage of occupation of high level positions by men and women.