The Unicamp University Council approved, in a meeting held on Tuesday (30), the adhesion of ethnic-racial quotas for competitions and public selection processes for employees in the Teaching, Research and Extension Support Professionals (PAEPE) career. The decision aims to reduce inequalities in the access of black candidates to the University's staff. The reservation of places will be 20% for self-declared black and brown people.
The measure will come into effect for the next competitions and selection processes after the publication of the deliberation in the Official Gazette of the State of São Paulo, which should occur in the next few days. The reservation of vacancies will be valid for the total number of people called up for each role, and is not linked to the total number of vacancies in the notice. Thus, if the competition offers only one vacancy and eventually calls for more candidates during the period the notice is valid, there will be no loss. Self-declared black and brown and pre-classified candidates who opt for quotas will go through an investigation commission, and will simultaneously compete for vacancies through broad competition.
"With great joy, we approved the ethnic-racial quotas in public competitions for the PAEPE career at Unicamp, further expanding inclusion and diversity at Unicamp. It is another historic moment that we managed to approve in our management, which we are very proud of", says the rector from Unicamp, Marcelo Knobel.
Proposal is based on a study on the staff
The affirmative action proposal was based on studies carried out by the Working Group (GT) appointed by the rector, in January this year, to propose an entry policy for the PAEPE career. The GT, made up of members from Unicamp and the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), identified that, despite the population of São Paulo being made up of 40,4% of self-declared black and brown people, at Unicamp the percentage of civil servants with this profile is 22%.
“It was necessary to do something to overcome this unequal treatment, especially if we consider that 40% of the population of São Paulo is black and mixed race and we have a lower percentage within Unicamp. Furthermore, this percentage is not well distributed”, observes Francisco de Assis Magalhães Gomes Neto, dean of University Planning, who also coordinated the GT.
The presence of black employees, indicates the GT study, falls as the level of training increases. In fundamental level careers, they represent 45% of the total number of employees. At the medium level, it is 27%. At the higher level, it is just 13%. The GT also noted that the presence of black civil servants in higher-paying roles is even lower.
Therefore, for Professor Francisco Neto, this is an important decision in order to reduce these discrepancies. “It is an advance, as it is clear that there is in fact an underrepresentation in the workforce. This proposal is a first step in recognizing that it is necessary to increase this participation, especially in some functions”, he indicates.
Affirmative actions at Unicamp
The approval of quotas for employees adds to a set of inclusion policies that have strengthened in recent years. Since 2004, through the Affirmative Action and Social Inclusion Program (PAAIS), Unicamp has offered a bonus to students from public schools. In 2017, the quota system for self-declared black and brown students was approved, which came into effect in 2019. The Indigenous Vestibular also had its first edition in 2019.
