This is no longer acceptable. Companies have to drive change.
Quando uma instituição pública é abalada por escândalos de assédio, o que está em jogo não é apenas a reputação de um indivíduo, mas a confiança de milhares de trabalhadoras que dependem de suas lideranças para garantir ambientes dignos. Daniella Marques assumiu a presidência da Caixa Econômica Federal nesta semana com a missão de reconstruir o que foi fraturado — anunciando investigações independentes, afastando colaboradores do círculo do ex-presidente Pedro Guimarães e comprometendo-se a transformar o banco em referência para os direitos das mulheres. É um momento em que a governança encontra a consciência, e em que uma instituição é chamada a encarnar os valores que deveria sempre ter defendido.
- Múltiplas funcionárias da Caixa relataram assédio sexual e moral praticado pelo ex-presidente Pedro Guimarães, cuja saída abrupta deixou a instituição em estado de crise e exposição pública.
- Seis integrantes do círculo de confiança de Guimarães foram afastados de seus cargos para preservar a integridade das apurações — uma medida preventiva que sinaliza ruptura deliberada com a gestão anterior.
- MPF, MPT e TCU já conduzem investigações paralelas, enquanto a Caixa se prepara para contratar empresa independente e abrir canal sigiloso de denúncias para seus funcionários.
- Marques trouxe ao cargo sua própria história de resistência ao sexismo nos mercados financeiros, transformando experiência pessoal em mandato institucional por mudança cultural.
- A nova presidente obteve respaldo do conselho para posicionar a Caixa como instituição de referência em direitos das mulheres, expandindo sua atuação para além do ambiente de trabalho — incluindo violência doméstica e exploração infantil.
Pedro Guimarães deixou a presidência da Caixa Econômica Federal após funcionárias relatarem assédio sexual e moral. Ele nega as acusações. Coube a Daniella Marques, sua sucessora, assumir uma instituição marcada pelo escândalo e apresentar um caminho de reconstrução.
Em entrevista à GloboNews na segunda-feira, Marques foi direta: as investigações serão conduzidas com rigor e independência, e ninguém estará acima da responsabilização. Como primeiro gesto concreto, afastou seis pessoas ligadas ao gabinete de Guimarães — o chefe de gabinete e cinco consultores presidenciais — deixando claro que o afastamento não implica julgamento, mas protege a lisura do processo.
A apuração envolve múltiplas frentes: Ministério Público Federal, Ministério Público do Trabalho e Tribunal de Contas da União já investigam o caso. A Caixa contratará uma empresa independente e abrirá, ainda esta semana, um canal sigiloso para que funcionários possam fazer denúncias. Um comitê permanente será criado para supervisionar esse tipo de apuração.
Marques falou também de si mesma. Em mais de vinte anos nos mercados financeiros, ouviu repetidamente que aquele não era lugar para mulheres — e seguiu em frente. Mas reconheceu que nem todas têm o mesmo privilégio de ignorar o preconceito. 'Temos que mostrar que isso não é mais aceitável', disse. 'As empresas precisam promover mudança de comportamento.'
Com o apoio do conselho, ela pretende transformar a Caixa em referência nacional para os direitos das mulheres. A capilaridade do banco — presente em todos os municípios do país — será usada para enfrentar não apenas o assédio no trabalho, mas também a violência doméstica e a exploração infantil. O que aconteceu sob a gestão anterior ainda precisa ser completamente apurado. Mas Marques já deixou claro que a cultura da instituição vai mudar.
Pedro Guimarães stepped down as president of Caixa Econômica Federal last week after female employees came forward with accounts of sexual and moral harassment. He has denied the allegations. Now his successor, Daniella Marques, is tasked with rebuilding an institution fractured by scandal.
Marques sat down with GloboNews on Monday to lay out her plan. She was direct: the bank will investigate these allegations thoroughly and independently, and she will not shield anyone from accountability. "As a woman, I find it unacceptable that there are signs of sexual harassment," she said. "This has to be investigated with rigor and responsibility."
She has already moved to distance the institution from the previous administration. Six people from Guimarães' inner circle—his chief of staff and five presidential consultants—have been removed from their posts. Marques was careful to note that their removal does not presume guilt; rather, it preserves the integrity of the investigation. She also noted that Celso Leonardo, the former vice president of wholesale business, had already left his position on Friday. "I have a group of people in positions of trust, linked to the office, the chief of staff. People I don't know, people I don't judge," she explained. The removals, she said, are meant to ensure the investigations remain untainted.
The scope of scrutiny extends beyond the bank itself. The Federal Public Ministry, the Labor Public Ministry, and the Court of Accounts are all investigating. The bank will hire an independent firm to assist in the probe. This week, Marques said, Caixa will open a confidential channel where employees can report harassment. A permanent committee will be established to oversee such investigations, and the federal comptroller's office will collaborate with the bank's internal bodies.
Marques brought her own experience to the conversation. Over twenty years in financial markets before joining government, she said, she heard the same dismissals repeatedly in job interviews: "What are you doing here?" "This is no place for a woman." "Women can't handle the pressure." She endured crude jokes and sexist remarks. "I didn't have fear and simply ignored it, went ahead and did my work," she said. "But I know other women don't have the courage and aren't in the position of privilege I am. We simply have to show that this is no longer acceptable. Companies have to drive behavioral change in the workplace."
Beyond the immediate crisis, Marques has secured the board's backing to position Caixa as a reference institution for women's rights. The bank, she said, has always been the bank of all Brazilians. Now it will also be, in her words, the mother of the feminist cause. The bank's network spans every municipality in the country, and she intends to use that reach not only to combat workplace harassment but to address child prostitution and domestic violence against women. The investigation into what happened under Guimarães' leadership will determine much about how the institution moves forward. But Marques has already signaled that the reckoning will be thorough, and that the bank's culture will change.
Notable Quotes
As a woman, I find it unacceptable that there are signs of sexual harassment. This has to be investigated with rigor and responsibility.— Daniella Marques, new president of Caixa Econômica Federal
We simply have to show that this is no longer acceptable. Companies have to drive behavioral change in the workplace.— Daniella Marques, reflecting on her twenty years in finance
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Marques move so quickly to remove people from Guimarães' office if she hasn't yet determined whether they were involved in the harassment?
Because the investigation itself needs to be credible. If those people stayed in place while being investigated, it would look like the bank was protecting them, or that they had influence over the process. The removals are a signal that this is serious.
But doesn't removing them before any finding of wrongdoing risk unfairly damaging their reputations?
It does. That's the tension she's trying to navigate. She said explicitly she's not judging them. But she's also saying the bank's reputation and the integrity of the investigation matter more, right now, than the comfort of six staffers.
She mentioned being a woman in finance for twenty years. Does that shape how she's approaching this?
Almost certainly. She's lived the dismissal, the crude jokes, the assumption that women don't belong. When she says this is unacceptable, she's not reading from a script. She's speaking from something real.
What's the significance of opening a confidential reporting channel this week?
It's an admission that the old system didn't work. Women didn't feel safe coming forward before. Now Marques is saying: we're listening, and we're protecting you. Whether that actually changes behavior depends on whether people believe the bank will act on what it hears.
She talked about making Caixa a reference for women's rights. Isn't that a big leap from investigating one scandal?
It is. But it's also strategic. She's saying the bank won't just fix this problem and move on. She's committing to something larger. Whether that's genuine or damage control, time will tell.