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By Presentes Agency

(Buenos Aires) Carolina Perona filed a complaint against the authorities of the Madre de los Emigrantes Institute (IME) in La Boca (Buenos Aires City) for refusing to hire her when they learned she was going to marry a woman. Carolina is from Córdoba, is 25 years old, and has lived in Buenos Aires for six years. She only has a few courses left to complete her degree as an Italian teacher. On Friday, September 7, she had a conciliation hearing with school authorities after filing a claim for termination of her contract without an employment relationship, but no agreement was reached. "They didn't acknowledge either the discrimination or the moral damages," the young woman told Presentes. She has already filed a complaint with INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism) and is now pursuing a labor lawsuit.

In early July, Carolina learned through a classmate at the "Dr. Joaquín V. González" Higher Institute—where she is studying to become a teacher—that several teaching hours were becoming available at the secondary level at the Madres de los Emigrantes Institute. Her classmate sent her CV by email, and a few days later, she received a call to schedule an interview with the school authorities.

[READ ALSO: “I want it recognized that my dismissal was due to discrimination”]

“There were several openings because my colleague was resigning and another was freeing up hours because she was going on maternity leave,” the young woman explained. “I met with the principals of both school levels and with the institution’s legal representative, Father Irineu Zotti. They were very pleased with my profile; I have experience and ample availability, so they quickly confirmed that I had been selected for the substitute position. They called me in two days later to complete the onboarding forms and gave me an appointment for the pre-employment medical exam,” she said.

While filling out the forms, Carolina asked what marital status to put, “because I was getting married on July 16th. They told me to put ‘married.’ On the forms, I wrote that my spouse’s name is Stéphanie Pau. Following the marriage, I mentioned that I had a trip planned for August, something I had already mentioned in previous interviews, which would disrupt a workday. The secretary checked and was told that I couldn’t take leave because I didn’t have seniority at the institution, and I replied that I agreed and that they should deduct it from my final pay,” Carolina recounted.

[READ ALSO: She claims her score for a non-teaching position was lowered because she is a lesbian]

She recounts that when she finished filling out the paperwork, “the problem” arose when they read her girlfriend's name. The secretary asked her, “Is Stéphanie a woman?” “I don't know if the name bothered her or if she's a woman,” Carolina said. She explained that 11 days later she received an email notification saying they regretted not considering her for the substitute teacher leave. “They framed it with the leave, but they discriminated against me when I disclosed my sexual orientation and made the decision not to hire me at the school. It was devastating news because I was happy with how things were going: I had just gotten married and had found a job,” Carolina said.
Afterward, she went to the LGBT Advocacy Office for advice and to report what had happened.

“Subtle discrimination within the context of a religious dogma”

Cristina Montserrat Hendrickse, a lawyer with the legal team of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender People (FALGBT), is advising Carolina. She told Presentes that the first step was to file a claim for termination of the employment contract without an actual employment relationship. “This constitutes a dismissal before the employment relationship even begins, as stipulated in Article 24 of the Employment Contract Law. To proceed to court, there is a mandatory labor conciliation process (SECLO) provided by the Ministry of Labor through a network of labor conciliation centers.”

The lawyer recounted that representatives of the school denied the allegations. “But for us, it’s clear that this is a discriminatory attitude, especially given that the equal marriage law was publicly rejected by the current head of the Catholic Church, former Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, who spoke of a holy war,” Cristina said. She added, “All of this caused Carolina economic and moral harm because it was her first job. They cut her off at the start of her teaching career, disrespecting her life plans and her sexual identity. We are going to initiate legal action against the Madre de los Emigrantes Institute, claiming 50% of the salary she would have received for the substitute teaching position, as well as compensation for moral damages. They didn’t even apologize.”

The lawyer emphasized that the IME is a privately managed public educational institution: “It can’t be that the residents of Buenos Aires pay for institutions that are supposed to provide public education and then pay them to discriminate. The City Government must intervene in this institution.”

Presentes attempted to contact Beatriz Jauregui, the Director General of Private Education in the City of Buenos Aires. Her office referred them to the press office, where they requested that inquiries be sent by email, which went unanswered.