Argentina’s Largest Bank Pledges That 5% Of New Hires Will Be Trans

“This is a great source of pride and a huge challenge to expand it everywhere.”

Banco de la Nación, Argentina’s largest bank, announced last week that it will be rolling out a new hiring program that’s set to increase the number of trans workers on staff.

The bank is making an unprecedented move in an attempt to address the unemployment crisis that trans workers face in Argentina. According to the institution, a quota is set to be instated mandating that transgender people must account of 5 percent of new hires. Based on the company’s current hiring practices, that adds up to an estimated 17 additional trans employees per year.

“This agreement transcends Banco Nación and creates a precedent for other banks in Argentina,” Guillermo Maffeo, regional director of UNI Americas Finance, said in a press release. “It also cuts through borders and forces us to fight for the trans quota in all banks in the Americas and globally. … This is a great source of pride and a huge challenge to expand it everywhere.”

Maffeo also added that the mandate is “a giant step in the just recognition of dignity and integration for the most vulnerable group in our societies.”

The hope is that this initiative will result in a major increase of trans people in the Banco de la Nación workforce. Run by Argentina’s national government, this mandate makes Banco de la Nación the first bank in the world to adopt this sort of program, per UNI Global Union.

This is not the first progressive step forward for Argentinian trans rights. In 2012, a comprehensive law was passed to allow trans people to legally update their gender without the need for surgery. In 2019, the government passed another law mandating that a certain percent of civil service jobs must be set aside for trans applicants. It’s also been reported that the government is considering proposals to increase trans workers’ employment opportunities.


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