Women in Brazil enjoy the same legal rights and duties as men, what is clearly expressed in the 5th article of Brazil's 1988 Constitution. A cabinet-level office, the Secretariat for Women's Affairs, oversees a special secretariat that has responsibility to ensure the legal rights of women. Although the law prohibits discrimination based on gender in employment and wages, there were significant wage disparities between men and women. However, many women have been elected mayors and many women have been federal judges. The first female assumed office in the Senate in 1979. Women became candidates for vice president for the first time in 1994. Women gained the right to vote under the same literacy requirements as men in 1932. Reproductive rights are a critical issue in Brazil. Major health problems have been caused by back-street abortions and attempts to make sterilization the main form of contraception for women.As far as education is concerned, the literacy rate for women is slightly higher than those for men. Female literacy rate was 88.8% in 2004 Male literacy rate was 88.4%.