The incorporation of women’s empowerment principles (WEPs) as criteria for granting the national social responsibility seal for prison work (RESCUE)

Abstract

Gender discrimination against women in the labor market remains a global scourge. This situation is even more aggravated in the case of women prisoners or ex-prisoners, who suffer not only from gender bias, but from their involvement with the criminal world. In this context, the present work aimed to propose the incorporation of the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) proposed by the United Nations (UN), as a new criterion for the granting of the National Seal of Social Responsibility for Prison Work (RESCUE). The RESCUE, created in 2017 by the National Penitentiary Department (DEPEN), of the Brazilian State, has the purpose of recognizing the initiatives of public and private institutions that hire people deprived of their liberty or those released from the national prison system. For this purpose, bibliographic and documentary research was carried out on Brazilian doctrine and legislation, as well as on UN documents. It was concluded that there is a need and urgency for the Brazilian State to improve the mechanisms for the inclusion of women in the labor market, especially in the case of those prisoners or those who are discharged from the penitentiary system, being RESCUE an important initiative that can be significantly improved by including WEPs, as one of the criteria for its award.