"In the week in which the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April is commemorated, it is good to remember that democracy is not the same for everyone," pointed out BE deputy Joana Mortágua, at a press conference in parliament to present a bill that aims to revise legislation within the scope of promoting equal pay between women and men. The Bloquista recalled that "in Portugal, women are poorer than men," arguing that this happens because they work in professions that are "more undervalued by society," such as cleaning or working in restaurants, but also because they are "the most disadvantaged throughout their careers" because they have a double shift with household chores or because they are not promoted due to maternity leave absences, among other situations. In this context, BE today submitted a bill that aims to reinforce "pay transparency" on salaries earned by men and women and the sanctions applied when this information is not provided by companies. "Both unions and the government, that is, all bodies responsible for equality and the area of work, must have access to data that allows them to compare the wage gap, individual pay rises but also promotions and how these promotions and pay rises relate to maternity leave, maternity licenses. With this data, we can assess gender pay gaps, which otherwise seem to be inexplicable," she considered. BE also advocates the creation of an "inequality calculator," that is, it wants the Government to make available to employers "through the Commission for Equality in Work and Employment, an electronic tool that allows, based on the insertion of data relating to male and female workers, to measure the degree of pay differences between men and women that cannot be explained by objective factors." This tool would have a statistical purpose, added Joana Mortágua, stressing that there is little data on this disparity in the country. The Bloquistas also want that, if a company detects "discrimination or disparity, instead of going to re-evaluate what is happening, it implements an action plan and presents a plan to resolve this pay gap." The project also aims to shorten deadlines: "When pay gaps are detected [the company] must have 12 months to present this action plan, the perception that there is an uncorrected inequality cannot be infinite," defended Joana Mortágua. Among the objectives of the bill is the "mandatory reporting and action plans in the State business sector." Joana Mortágua stressed that it would be up to the Labor Conditions Authority (ACT), based on the balance sheets produced by the companies, to communicate "whether or not there is a need to make an action plan" in a given company. "We know that these are complex matters and that they imply changes in the organizational culture of companies. But without doing so, we will continue to harm women in their careers and continue to allow women to be the poorest in our society despite working as much and even much more often than men," considered the deputy. Read Also: Sebastião Bugalho? It is "a new dimension" of the "mess" of AD (Portuguese version)