Catalogue of Local Inclusive Public Policies

Public policies
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Great Agreement for Equal Treatment Mexico City

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Ciudad de México - Mexico

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
1,000,000 inhabitants or more (metropolis)

10-2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.

11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.

16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Summary

Mexico City’s Great Agreement for Equal Treatment is the linking platform of the Council to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination in Mexico City (COPRED) with the business sector. Through the analysis of internal policies, the training of decision-makers at companies and the adoption of a labor inclusion policy, the private sector joins efforts with the Government of Mexico City to foster a culture of equality and non-discrimination to ensure full access to the rights of people that live and travel through the country’s capital.

Implementation Date:

Start: 09 / 1 / 2016

End: End: Currently in force

Interculturalism and non-discrimination - Fight against discrimination, xenophobia and racism
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The Survey on Discrimination in Mexico City (EDIS 2017), which measures the perception of discrimination to people aged 18 or older that reside in the city, has identified that citizens grade with 7,7 (on a scale of 0 to 10, in which 10 means a maximum of discrimination) the existence of discrimination, and the main reasons why citizenship perceive more discrimination are the following: low educational level, sexual orientation/preference; skin color, poverty, disability and economic situation. In addition, the main spaces where there is more discrimination are the street, work, school, public transport and public bodies. Likewise, according to the 2018 Report on Cases of Special Attention of the Council, the greatest number of complaints received during that year were due to violations to the right to work, and the main cause is dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy. 74.46% cases took place in the work environment. Health conditions, gender and disability are also among the main reasons that trigger a differentiated treatment in the capital of the country that hinder or deny access to fundamental rights such as the right to work.
Generate actions that promote equal treatment and non-discrimination in the private sector of Mexico City. Specific Objectives: • Recognize companies that make an effort beyond their legal obligations to become inclusion and promotion of equal treatment referents in Mexico City. • Raise awareness among collaborators and private sector companies in equality, non-discrimination and human rights issues. • Reduce work inequality in priority care groups through the development and application of innovative and creative practices of labor inclusion. • Associate COPRED with those companies that carry out actions in favor of equality. • Generate alliances among COPRED, the private sector and civil society organizations to promote projects and inclusion programs in all areas.
COPRED is the government agency responsible for the design, implementation, evaluation and follow-up of Mexico City’s Great Agreement for Equality. The agency reviews and analyses internal policies of companies to identify discriminatory practices and behaviors that limit the exercise of people’s human rights, approves or disapproves their accession to the Great Agreement, promotes the adoption of a labor inclusion policy in the companies, trains decision-makers of companies by giving inclusive companies workshops, provides follow-up to labor inclusion policy implemented by each company and evaluates their impact and results.
The policy of the Great Agreement fosters inter-institutional articulation by means of joint work with other government offices to a local level and with other administrative levels, such as townships, which are a territorial demarcation. Currently, the Secretariat of Labor and Promotion of Employment joined forces so that the companies that are part of its Job Center adhere to the Great Agreement. In addition, there was an approach with the Tourism Secretariat to awaken the interest of tourism companies to join.
In Mexico, the right to non-discrimination and decent employment are set forth in sections 1 and 123 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, respectively, and the Federal Labor Law. To a local level, these rights are guaranteed in the Political Constitution of Mexico City and in the Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination (ss. 18, 25 and 29). The policy of the Great Agreement is part of Topic 1. Equality and Rights, 1.6. Right to Equality and Inclusion of 2019-2024 Mexico City Government Program.
Private sector
Society in general
Awareness and/or information campaigns
Education and training
The intervention strategy consists of the incorporation of companies through five steps: registration form, signed membership application, good practices and internal policies questionnaire, companies training and incorporation of labor inclusion and non-discrimination policy. The training processes are given twice a year through the “Equality and non-discrimination workshops. Inclusive Labor Areas”, comprised of three modules: Discrimination at work spaces, Legal Framework and Diversity, and Labor Inclusion. Institutional strengthening of companies is achieved through the incorporation of the labor inclusion and non-discrimination policy in their regulations, whereby they undertake to monitor that the right to equality and non-discrimination is respected in all areas and processes, either directly or indirectly, as well as generating actions to build an equal work environment that contributes to a more equitable society. Other intervention strategies are: Good Practices of Labor Inclusion Contest (which awards those practices from companies that had good results), the Antología de Buenas Prácticas Empresariales (Good Business Practices Compendium) and the Good Practices Forums.
The Great Agreement for Equal Treatment is an innovating policy that works under a joint responsibility approach between the Government and the private sector, with the collaboration and participation of the academia and the civil society. It is innovative because this is the first time that to a local and national level, a policy is carried out to incorporate these sectors in such a sensitive topic as equal treatment and non-discrimination from a differential and human rights perspective. Prior to this, the relation between the Government and the companies was limited to hearing complaints on the grounds of discrimination at work environments. Since the implementation of the Great Agreement, it is possible to influence on the reduction of work inequality in groups of priority care; raise awareness among collaborators and private sector companies in equality, non-discrimination and human rights issues; generate actions that promote these topics in historically relegated areas, and make companies visible through recognition given by the Government of Mexico City.
The Great Agreement works under a joint responsibility approach between the local Government and the private sector, the academia and the civil society. Although the resources for its operation are exclusive to COPRED and to the companies that are part of it, the policy would not be implemented without said approach. The local Government implements and assesses the policy, the private sector participates through the implementation of labor inclusion and non-discrimination actions within the companies, the academia provides training and workshops or participates as jury at the Good Practices Forums, and civil society organizations act as facilitators and advocates in specific labor inclusion issues.
From its beginning, the Great Agreement policy has fostered the social participation of companies through formal mechanisms such as: the Good Business Practices forums and the inclusive companies workshops. The Good Business Practices forums were held during the drafting of the Great Agreement for Equal Treatment and there were workshops, during its implementation stage. In both cases some of the problems and opportunities were identified to position the issue of equality in the private sector; there was an exchange of successful experiences among companies and spaces of labor inclusion have been opened to populations historically discriminated. All this, through an active listening of companies’ needs, the people who work in them, and the training and awareness on non-discrimination and inclusion issues for all the people that participated in the processes. By the end of 2020, when the companies renew their commitment with the Great Agreement three years after their accession, a discussion group will take place and companies will submit an activity report in which they can assess the results of their actions since their accession.
The Great Agreement is sustainable since it is a policy addressed to inclusion and non-discrimination framed in the local Constitution and the Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination in Mexico City which exclusively mandates COPRED to be the entity responsible for preventing and eliminating discrimination and is authorized in section 37, subsection 15, to grant recognition to companies that stand out for carrying out programs and measures to prevent discrimination in their practices, organizational documents and budgets. The Council Bylaws also authorizes to coordinate connection works with social and academic organizations, public and private initiative entities in terms of the right to equality and non-discrimination. That is why, every year, the Council incorporates to the Annual Operational Program the budget to be used to implement the Great Agreement, which is allocated to carry out workshops, forums, contests and dissemination. Human and financial resources are supplemented with what each company can use from its own budget. Although a company may opt-out the Great Agreement, new companies also adhere to the Great Agreement every year, so its operation is not affected.
The companies that are part of the Great Agreement have to renew their willingness to remain after three years of having adhered. In order to obtain renewal, they must send an official letter addressed to the Council Presidency requesting permanence, together with a report showing the actions the company carried out during said period in favor of equal treatment and non-discrimination. Based on the information submitted, el Council assesses the policies and results applying current legislation and protocols and the Council determines the permanence or removal of the company from the Great Agreement for Equal Treatment.
Local goverment
|Companies
Since 2016 to date, 10 out of 22 companies of the Great Agreement have carried out 51 actions in favor of equality and non-discrimination. The majority of these were inclusion measures; levelling measures and, to a lesser extent, affirmative actions addressed to women, pregnant women, LGBTI+ people, disabled people, young people, children, aborigine population, migrant population, religious minorities, elderly people and homeless people. The impact of these 51 actions has been reflected in a harassment and violence prevention culture, an inclusive work environment that has contributed to an increase in individuals’ productivity, as well as job applications from people with disabilities and from the LBGTI+ population to the companies and more accessible offices. Likewise, as of 2017, five workshops have been given training at least 56 people of 28 companies. Six of these companies are still in accession process. In 2017, one of the specific productions of the forums of Good Practices was the publication of the Antología de Buenas Prácticas Empresariales (Good Business Practices Compendium) in terms of equality and non-discrimination in order to disseminate them and so that other companies can replicate them.
COPRED keeps a record of each of the companies that adhere to the Great Agreement and of their policies electronically. In addition, there is a database with the codes of conduct, dress codes and internal rules of the companies, which was recently updated with a questionnaire shared to all the companies asking about the results and impact of the actions and the labor inclusion policy implemented since the accession to the Great Agreement. Said information is not available, since the companies of the Great Agreement and COPRED sign a confidentiality agreement which sets forth that no information will be made public. The communication strategy of the Great Agreement has different actions: dissemination of the policy in digital media such as the COPRED website and social networks; promotion of the events COPRED attends or holds, and connection with organizations and institutions close to the private sector. On the other hand, one of the actions with the most significant impact was the dissemination through the Assistance Area of the Council, which has direct contact with general population and which invites companies that at a given time, had complaints on the grounds of discrimination and also the companies that approach the Council for any other reason.
(Español) Portal con información sobre el Gran Acuerdo
Informe de actividades - COPRED año 2019

Instrumentos

10-2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.

11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.

16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

A - Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development with equality and respect for human rights.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Location

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
1,000,000 inhabitants or more (metropolis)

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/* Educacion = 2 Empleo = 14 Género y diversidad sexual = 8 Interculturalidad y no discriminación = 21 Medio ambiente = 18 Movilidad Humana = 7 patrimonio e identidad cultural = 88 Salud = 25 Seguridad = 31 Vivienda = 30 */