Sánchez culminates his feminist agenda with the approval of the parity law

"The Council of Ministers has been placid, as always," one of its members acknowledged yesterday to La Vanguardia.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
07 March 2023 Tuesday 22:26
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Sánchez culminates his feminist agenda with the approval of the parity law

"The Council of Ministers has been placid, as always," one of its members acknowledged yesterday to La Vanguardia. In full fracture in the coalition of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos for the reform of the law of only yes is yes, which was certified a few hours later in the vote to take it into consideration in Congress, the tension between both souls of the Executive did not staged at the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers. The struggle, very bitter between the parties, shot up on the eve of 8-M, but outside the walls of the Moncloa palace.

"The social environment is much more important than the environment in the Council of Ministers," admitted in any case the government spokeswoman, Isabel Rodríguez. And Pedro Sánchez thus culminated the feminist legislative agenda of the mandate with the approval of the draft organic law for Parity Representation of Women and Men in Decision Bodies that he already advanced last Saturday at a PSOE rally. Sánchez will celebrate 8-M today, precisely, by holding a meeting with women company managers in Moncloa.

The initiative was coordinated by the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, since it implies the modification of five other laws, including the Government and the General Electoral Regime. And it was made official, in the subsequent press conference, by the economic vice president, Nadia Calviño, to whose department the modifications of the Capital Companies Law and the Securities Markets Law corresponded, to set parity in large companies.

Calviño highlighted the "ambition" of the regulation, which "breaks the glass ceiling in the public and private spheres, and consolidates Spain as one of the most advanced countries in terms of gender equality worldwide." And not only for reasons of social justice, as he claimed, but also for economic rationality. The vice president set the goal of the law to establish "40% female participation in public and private management and decision-making bodies." But, as she warned, "on a realistic schedule." Thus, listed companies must ensure that their boards of directors have at least 40% women before July 1, 2024. "Now it does not reach 30%, and it is below 20% in senior management positions she warned.

The new regulation will also apply to large unlisted companies -with more than 250 employees and an annual turnover of more than 50 million euros-, although with an additional term until July 2026, so that they have time to adapt.

On the political level, all electoral candidacies –for Congress, the Senate, the European Parliament, regional assemblies and municipalities– must have an equal composition through rack lists. The principle of "balanced representation" will also be applied to the central government, so that neither sex has a presence of less than 40% in the Council of Ministers. Parity will not remain in the hands of the discretion of the chief executive.

In the sphere of the general administration of the State, the higher and managerial bodies of each ministry – State secretaries, sub-secretaries and general directorates – must also incorporate this principle “in the next five years”. The obligation will extend to all state public sector entities.

The Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, justified that it was not yesterday Irene Montero, whom she defined as "a good Minister of Equality", who appeared to announce the approval of the initiative: "The Government has many women's voices", she alleged .

Bolaños also had the responsibility of presenting to the table of the Council of Ministers a report on the balance of the political and regulatory action of the Government in terms of equality during this legislature. And finally, the head of Equality, Irene Montero, was in charge of putting on the table the institutional declaration on the occasion of 8-M that was also approved by the Council of Ministers.

"This pioneering law puts us back at the forefront of feminist policies in the world, on the eve of International Women's Day," celebrated Isabel Rodríguez after the approval of the project that will make parity in the political and economic sphere mandatory. “We are a Government of progress, which champions the fight for equality and climbs new steps in full equality between men and women”, she highlighted.

Within the catalog of the feminist agenda of this legislature, the Executive highlights the increase in the minimum wage, the labor reform, equal pay, the equalization of paternity and maternity leave, the minimum vital income, the agreement for domestic workers and other equality plans. "Of the more than a thousand regulations approved, 25% have a positive impact expressly for women," said the spokeswoman, who put these achievements before the clash in the coalition for the law of only yes is yes. "The feminist agenda of this government is so positive and intense that it overcomes any technical-legal discrepancy that we may have," she confided.