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Photos: Presentes Archive/Illustration: National Campaign for Transgender Quota and Labor Inclusion.  

In a historic decision, the Argentine government decreed that a quota of at least 1% of National Public Sector personnel positions be allocated "to transvestite, transsexual, and transgender individuals who meet the appropriate conditions for the position." The regulation establishes that "this percentage must be assigned to the aforementioned individuals under any of the current hiring modalities." Decree 721 was published today in the Official Gazette. This decree authorizes the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity, together with the Secretariat of Management and Public Employment of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers, to issue the regulatory and complementary norms.

What are the main points of the decree?

will be eligible to access the quota , "whether or not they have corrected their sex in the registry and changed their first name and image, as referred to in Article 3 of Law No. 26,743," as stated in Article 2 of the decree.

-There will be a registry of applicants , for the voluntary registration of transvestite, transgender, and transsexual individuals seeking to enter the public sector. Its creation is stated in Article 6, and will be within the purview of the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity.

-In its third article it speaks of "Non-discrimination": "Every transvestite, transsexual or transgender person has the right to decent and productive work, to equitable and satisfactory working conditions and to protection against unemployment, without discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or its expression, so that no employability requirements may be established that obstruct the exercise of these rights.

-It states that "to guarantee real equality of opportunity, the requirement of educational completion cannot be an obstacle to entry and retention " (Article 4). "If applicants for these positions have not completed their education, in accordance with Article 16 of Law No. 26,206 on National Education, they will be permitted to enter on condition that they complete the missing educational level(s) and complete them." The Coordination Unit "must provide means to guarantee compulsory educational training and training for transvestite, transsexual, and transgender persons in order to adapt their situation to the formal requirements for the job in question."

-Article 5 refers to the training of authorities and personnel of the Executive Branch so that inclusion is carried out in a respectful manner : "The MINISTRY OF WOMEN, GENDER AND DIVERSITY in coordination with the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION will train the authorities and personnel of the National Executive Branch to ensure that inclusion in jobs in the National Public Sector is carried out under conditions that respect the identity and gender expression of people."

-An Interministerial Coordination Unit is created within the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity , which will have the following functions: to prepare the Quota Implementation Plan, to guarantee the interinstitutional coordination mechanisms and procedures necessary for its compliance, to guarantee the necessary educational spaces for transvestite, transsexual and/or transgender people who need to complete compulsory studies, to guarantee training spaces for employment and job training required by transvestite, transsexual and/or transgender people.

- Recognizes the measure as restorative and complementary to others to come. "This decree establishes affirmative action measures with the goal of beginning to remedy the violations that have historically been committed against transvestite, transsexual, and transgender people in our country , among which is the application of Law No. 25,164 that respects the human rights of this group."

-According to the decree, "the permanent legal service of the MINISTRY OF WOMEN, GENDER AND DIVERSITY has taken the appropriate action." 

In line with human rights organizations

Among its arguments and grounds, the decree cites "Advisory Opinion No. 24 of November 24, 2017, of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which stated that 'sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as gender expression, are categories protected by the Convention' and that 'consequently, their recognition by the State is of vital importance to guarantee the full enjoyment of human rights for transgender persons.'" It also cites the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which in 2018 recommended that States develop "coordinated intersectoral strategies, articulating issues based on multiple factors, such as education, work and social security, food, housing, and health, aimed at guaranteeing the democratic participation and empowerment of LGBTI persons." 

It also includes the report on the situation in Argentina prepared by the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in 2017.

The decree cites the national importance of the Gender Identity Law but recognizes that "even with regulatory advances in this area, transvestite, transsexual, and transgender people continue to face difficulties in effectively exercising their right to health, education, decent housing, equitable and satisfactory working conditions, as well as protection against unemployment, without any discrimination."