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Job recruitment in the waste management sector is eminently male. In fact, 73.9% of the people who joined the sector in 2021 were men, according to the report “Gender equality in companies in the waste sector of Catalonia – Diagnosis and proposals for actions”. The majority of women working in the sector concentrate on lower-paid tasks, such as waste prevention and sorting, while the bulk of better-paid jobs are held by men.
With the aim of breaking this inequality, the Waste Agency of Catalonia has been working for years to incorporate a gender perspective in all its areas of action. In this sense, the Minister of Igualtat i Feminismes, Tània Verge Mestre, emphasizes that “the feminist transformation and the green transformation must go hand in hand and it will only be possible if we put ourselves at all levels, without excuses and from alliance and commitment shared".
Along these lines, the Catalan Waste Agency has successfully organized the first women's conference, under the title "Women's leadership in the waste sector". The meeting, held on December 12 at the Center for Culture and Memory of the Born in Barcelona, served to address the importance of introducing a gender perspective in a sector in which men predominate.
The director of the Waste Agency of Catalonia, Isaac Peraire Soler, highlights that “we must work hard in a joint and coordinated manner, involving not only women, but the entire society to make it more fair, green and feminist.” The aim of the congress, in which various professionals from the world of waste participated, is to promote a new vision of the sector, make visible and connect professional women in the circular economy of our country and inspire the entire chain of activities dedicated to management. and waste treatment.
In addition, the Department of Climate Action and Rural Agenda has created a Gender Transversality Working Group, which integrates representatives from the set of management units of the Department, which includes the Waste Agency of Catalonia.
The functions of this group are to promote and monitor the Rural and Maritime Women's Program with regard to gender equality; develop the agreed actions; collaborate in the preparation of the Gender Transversality Report, of the Catalan Women's Institute, and in the Plan of equal opportunities between women and men, of the Administration of the Generalitat of Catalonia, among others.
The commitment of the Waste Agency of Catalonia to incorporate equality in a transversal way has already been embodied from the beginning with the change of name of the department from Waste Observatory to Waste Observatory and Gender Perspective, expanding its attributions to evaluate and analyze the situation of the sector from a gender perspective.
Among other actions, the Observatori promotes the visibility of women in the sector, seeks to break gender stereotypes, incorporate waste management and treatment in educational curricula, promote gender equality in companies in the sector and guarantee compliance with legal obligations regarding equality.
