Good Business Practices Guide on Gender and Diversity
By Mariano Peruzzotti and Antonella Balbo.
On October 19, 2021, the Secretariat of Domestic Trade has issued Resolution No. 1040/2021 (“the Resolution”), which approved the Guide on Good Business Practices on Gender and Diversity (“Guide”).
The Guide establishes recommendations based on international agreements and on the local experience on how to advertise, establish conditions of care and dignified treatment, as well as how to draft agreements, forms, documentation, among others.
It also proposes commercial suppliers to adopt these guidelines in their commercial policies taking into account the field or industry of their commercial activities. We briefly describe below the main aspects of the Guide.
- Information
According to Consumer Protection Law No. 24,240, information provided to consumers must be truthful, clear and detailed on the products and services offered, and presented in a way that it can be easily understood.
The Guide clarifies that the information should not contain gender orientation identifications, nor be biased in light of biological characteristics of the consumer. Therefore, it recommends the use of information that addresses gender diversity and using inclusive language.
- Labelling
The Guide recommends preventing the use of products labels oriented towards a particular gender as well as the use of colors or codes that are socially related to gender stereotypes.
Therefore, among other aspects, it proposes:
– to avoid messages that promote beauty stereotypes, encouraging risky practices for consumer’s health;
– that product information should not suggest practices that may be considered risky for the consumer’s health;
– that product information should not associate biological characteristics to pain, shame, discomfort, fear or similar feelings or sensations, to a particular gender.
- Advertising
As for advertising, the Guide recommends:
– that product advertisements should include both female and male genders on different tasks, jobs, roles, or usual activities, avoiding any distinction related to physical or biological characteristics;
– the promotion of diverse role models, in which both genders perform the same tasks (such as housekeeping duties).
- Contracts, Forms and Documentation
The Guide recommends that agreements should not be drafted focused on a particular gender but include inclusive language instead. Also, the use of abbreviations such as Mr., Dr., or others should be avoided.
Forms should include the possibility of choosing among multiple gender identities instead the binary perspective Female/Male. The Guide also promotes the idea of requesting this information only where strictly necessary.
The complete text of the Guide can be accessed at https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/251209/20211019 (only in Spanish)
The Resolution has entered in force on October 19 2021, with its publication in the Official Gazette.
For further information contact: mperuzzotti@ojambf.com.
