Mulheres do Brasil is a group of women leaders from various sectors who came together in October 2013 with the aim of discussing issues dear to Brazil's reality, such as education, entrepreneurship, quotas for women and social projects. The group currently brings together around 700 women from all over the country.
The group encourages social and gender equality at work, valuing respect for differences and promoting the guarantee of rights based on specificities. It argues, for example, that the right to work must also guarantee women's right to pregnancy, maternity and breastfeeding without devaluing their access to and permanence in the labor market.
Businesswoman Sonia Regina Hess de Souza, on the Board of Directors of Restoque, was one of the founders of Mulheres do Brasil, together with Luiza Helena Trajano, the group's leader. "We believe that together we can do a lot for our country, especially for women. We want to support entrepreneurship because we want to help women become protagonists. We want to help show ways forward for women, within each woman's choices. We have several work fronts, following a 360-degree vision," says Sonia Regina.
The group organizes itself into committees that debate specific topics, such as culture, education, entrepreneurship, health and combating violence against women. "We think about women as a whole, personal and professional development, women in violence, in culture, in law, we're looking at the world of women - the many worlds of women and how we can help them in each of them," explains Sonia.
ELAS Fund supports the initiative and is part of the group
The coordinators of the ELAS Fund also take part in the group, which holds monthly meetings. "It's an honor for me to be in Women of Brazil because I'm a foreigner and Luiza Trajano and other colleagues thought it was important for someone who had created a women's fund to be in the group, even though I'm a foreigner," says Amalia Fischer, general coordinator of the ELAS Fund.
Kaká Verdade, executive coordinator of the ELAS Fund, is a member of the committee to combat violence against women, the social committee and the 80 in 8 committee, aimed at valuing female executives. "We're taking part because we believe it's possible to encourage organizations and governments to improve Brazil's performance by implementing effective policies to empower women. One concrete project we have is to make progress in achieving quotas for female executives on company boards."
"The 80 in 8 committee has been following the Quotas Bill in the Senate and the progress of the suggested Presidential Decree drawn up by the sub-group. It is also dedicated to engaging opinion formers and the media on the importance of establishing quotas and to supporting and training female executives to serve as board members. The social committee, meanwhile, aims to leverage differentiated experiences in the social field through public-private connections and to mobilize the engagement of the Women of Brazil," says Kaká.
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