In the second election for sectionals after the implementation of the gender parity rule, the number of women in the presidency of state entities increased to six, without major advances in relation to those in the previous election. This year, representing only 22% of the command of the sections, women make up 82% of the elected vice positions.
In the six sections that elected women in these elections, Daniela Borges () and Gisela Cardoso () were re-elected, while Ingrid Zanella (), Christiane Leitão (), Érica Neves () and Ana Tereza Basílio () will assume the presidency for the first time.
Elections across the country took place in November.
In force since 2021, it establishes that slates must have 50% of people of each gender, a percentage that must be respected within the different positions, including incumbents and substitutes.
That year, 5 women were elected to command sections, and in 4 of them, it was the first time that one had assumed the presidency.
Although the last election represented a victory in the struggle of OAB lawyers, who in 90 years had elected, until then, only ten women to command the sections in the states and in the DF, the results of the elections for the next three years still show the disparity in presence of women in the presidency.
According to the Demographic Study of Brazilian Law (ADV Profile), launched in April this year, the profession is majority female, with 50% women, 49% men and 1% of other gender identities. The study was carried out by the Federal Council of the OAB in partnership with FGV Knowledge.
Despite female predominance, . Women are the majority among lawyers and occupy positions of power, being the majority of vice presidents, but they still face difficulties in advancing as leaders.
For Valentina Jungmann, former federal counselor at the OAB and author of the parity proposal, progress since its implementation has been timid. She attributes this to classist politics and the lack of affirmative actions that encourage more significant participation by women.
“In class politics, there is also a lot of violence. Many women give up or encounter obstacles to continue advancing the women’s agenda”, he states.
Jungmann was also the first woman to run for president of the . The lawyer describes the moment as delicate and says that she faced questions about her candidacy, adopting the slogan “Valentina para Valer”.
Another factor highlighted was the high cost of campaigns in some sections, highlighting the need to rethink the electoral system to make candidacies more democratic.
“Historically, women have been left in the background of politics. It took us a long time to be able to vote and to be voted for. So, this history of women’s exclusion in the political space undoubtedly reflects on our participation today”, he says.
According to Amanda Souto, national president of the OAB’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Commission, the increase in female presence in the institution, after the approval of the parity rule, brought to light urgent issues to reduce inequalities. However, she highlights that women have not yet achieved equality in the Order.
“To defend the law, it is necessary to defend society. And when we talk about representation, defending these values, we are talking about society too. I see that this is the purpose of the Order. When there is parity and people from different segments being represented there, We are fulfilling this purpose”, he states.
In the first term with the parity rule in force, law 14,612/2023 was approved, designed by the National Commission for Women Lawyers of the OAB, which establishes that moral harassment and discrimination are ethical infractions subject to suspension.
For Amanda Souto, this achievement reflects the impact of the greater female presence at OAB, which has expanded the institution’s vision on gender issues. She points out, however, that the difficulty in forming candidates is one of the main barriers to the rise of women to leadership, although she remains optimistic about the next elections.
