Photos: Ministry of Women and Diversity of the Nation/

Argentina yesterday opened the Voluntary Registration of Transvestite, Transsexual, and Transgender People aspiring to enter the National Public Sector . In September 2020, Argentine President Alberto Fernández, in a historic decision, signed Decree 721 to allocate at least 1% of positions in the National Public Sector "for transvestite, transsexual, and transgender people ."

The regulations stipulated that “this percentage must be allocated to the aforementioned individuals under any of the existing employment arrangements.” Decree 721/2020 authorized the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, together with the Secretariat of Public Management and Employment of the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, to issue the implementing and supplementary regulations for the decree. 

The official launch of the registry—a crucial tool for comprehensive inclusion—took place in the Women's Hall of the Casa Rosada. Participants included activists and leaders of the trans and travesti movement , the Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity (MMGyD), Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta , and government officials, among them two trans people holding key positions in the public sphere: Alba Rueda , Undersecretary of Diversity Policies at the MMGyD, and Ornella Infante , National Director of Policies against Discrimination at the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI).

Transvestite and transgender employment quota: make it law

“This launch is a fundamental step in implementing the trans employment quota, promoting equal opportunities for all trans people to enter and remain in the workforce,” Rueda . She also expressed her gratitude for the enormous work being done by transvestite and trans organizations “who fight daily and build this agenda of political demands .

These organizations continue to fight for a national law establishing employment quotas and comprehensive inclusion for transgender and transvestite people . They hope that Congress will debate and pass it in 2021. “We still need it to become law, and we are going to fight for it,” Minister Gómez Alcorta at yesterday's event.

“This resolution brings institutional transparency and clear accountability mechanisms to human resources departments for the selection of job positions and the hiring of suitable candidates,” said Alba Rueda. The official pledged to work to ensure that the registry “functions as a true and authentic trans-feminist policy of our State.”

From INADI, Ornella Infante recalled the enormous and powerful role that the transvestite and trans movement played in achieving this public policy. She highlighted “the struggle of various leaders such as Claudia Pía Baudracco, Lohana Berkins, Diana Sacayán, and so many other women who managed to establish a serious debate and bring to light the historical limitation that trans people have faced of being relegated to sex workers, seamstresses, and hairdressers, and how today we have the possibility of having a wide range of employment opportunities .”

How the Registry Works

According to information released by the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity:

• Transvestite and trans people who wish to register may do so regardless of whether or not they have changed their ID card.

• Entities or organizations must send the available jobs and their characteristics to the Undersecretariat of Diversity Policies of the MMGyD, in order to adapt the search and cross-reference the information of the job profiles based on the characteristics of the job offered and based on the place where they live.

• Variables will be taken into account to prioritize situations of vulnerability, such as lack of income, educational level, health coverage, and whether or not they receive state benefits.

•  The selection of profiles will be carried out automatically and cannot be modified, through a simple random procedure in the computer system for managing information of the Registry.

The Undersecretariat of Diversity Policies will request periodic reports from the entities and jurisdictions of the SPN on the total number of positions filled by transvestite, transsexual and transgender people.

How to register

To register, you must access this form and complete the required information: identification, contact, education, occupation, skills and abilities, work experience, knowledge and courses taken.

It is also possible to attach a CV to the form.

The data that is completed is protected by Law 25.326 on the Protection of Personal Data and Article 43, third paragraph of the National Constitution, thus guaranteeing the right to honor and privacy of those who register.

• Registration does not guarantee entry into an available position in the national public sector. Nor will it be considered a requirement for entry under any circumstances.