Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment | Portugal

The Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment (CITE) is a Portuguese equality entity with a tripartite and equilateral composition, whose mission is to fight discrimination and promote equality between women and men in labour, in employment and in vocational training, in both the private and public sectors, as well as the promotion and monitoring of social dialogue on gender equality.

For the past 40 years, we have been promoting equality and non-discrimination between women and men in the labour market, including around the issue of parental leave for mothers and fathers who encourage the assumption of family responsibilities in education, stimulating the healthy growth of children.

Portuguese equality legislation does not allow discrimination based on ancestry, age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, family or economic status, education, social origin or status, genetic heritage, language, nationality, territory of origin, political or ideological beliefs, union membership, disability, chronic illness or reduced work capacity.

In 20 years’ time, we’ll be closer to realising equality in Europe if equality before the law and protection against discrimination for all people is a universal right recognized in several legal instruments of international human rights law.  We’ll be closer to realising equality in Europe when the Horizontal Directive has been adopted and successfully implemented, giving equal rights to everyone across Europe.