MEXICO CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Mexico’s Senate committee on Wednesday backed a proposal to ban pay discrimination on other grounds, including gender and disability, and create fairer pay conditions for women in sports.
The bill, which still needs to pass the Senate floor and be considered in the House, would set a base salary for female athletes in sports such as soccer, where men are typically paid much higher salaries than women. It is being said.
The bill was passed at the committee level with the support of the ruling left-wing National Renewal Movement (MORENA) and the centre-left opposition Civic Movement (MC) party.
The Senate said in a statement that the bill’s purpose is to “protect the labor rights of professional athletes and establish equal base pay for men and women in sports.”
This provision also applies to athletes with disabilities and prohibits discrimination based on other criteria such as race, social status, and religion.
It was unclear how the bill would be implemented in practice if passed.
In Mexico’s top soccer league, the average monthly salary for men is 643,000 pesos ($37,185.47) and for women 3,700 pesos, according to the bill.
However, the Senate statement also noted that Mariana Gutierrez, president of the Mexican Women’s Soccer League, has expressed concerns about the cost of the initiative.
(1 dollar = 17.2917 Mexican pesos)
Report by Stefanie Eschenbacher.Editing: Tom Hogue
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