Electoral lists in Spain will become fully parity, and each gender must be represented by at least 40% on the boards of directors of companies listed on the stock exchange by July 2024, the Spanish government decided on Tuesday.
Companies that are not listed on the Spanish stock exchange but have more than 250 employees and an annual turnover of more than 50 million euros will also have to ensure that their boards of directors are at least 40% female or 40% male.
In these specific cases, the deadline for adapting the composition of the departments will be set to July 2026, according to a bill approved by the government on Tuesday and which must be ratified by parliament.
The document provides that the minimum representativeness of 40% of representatives of each gender also applies to the councils of professional associations and the jury of public awards.
The new rules are part of a bill approved on Tuesday by Spain’s Council of Ministers and presented at a press conference in Madrid by Spain’s first vice president, Nadia Calvinho, who also has a portfolio of economic affairs in the executive branch, led by socialist Pedro Sanchez.
As for the electoral lists, according to the document, they will always have to be drawn up, alternating between a man and a woman, in order to guarantee full parity, he explained.
The Spanish government must also follow the “principle of a balanced presence” of men and women, “regardless of the discretion” of those who lead it permanently, the minister said, noting that the current executive branch already respects this rule. which is intended to be used.
“With this bill, we are moving from recommendations, principles and best practices that have been in place so far, to establishing obligations to achieve and consolidate gender equality in political and economic decision-making,” he added.
The initiative, approved on Tuesday by Spain’s executive branch, goes further in terms of timing and scope than what the European directive on the matter envisages, the minister said.
Nadia Calvinho said the Spanish executive has taken “an important step towards effective gender equality” in the country’s decision-making bodies, which “breaks the glass ceiling in the public and private sphere” and “strengthens Spain as one of the most advanced countries in terms of gender equality” .
The Minister said that within the framework of gender equality, it is about social justice, as well as economic rationality, in order to “use 100% of female talent” and increase the productivity of companies and sustainable growth.
According to a recent report by the consulting firm Atrevia and the IESE business school, the boards of companies listed on the Spanish stock exchange in 2022 were predominantly male, with 32.37% women (390 board members out of a total of 1,205 board members) .
The Spanish government calls itself a “feminist government” and has moved forward with this legislature, which began in 2019, passing several laws that are considered a benchmark in terms of advanced gender equality.
Although there is a ministry for equality in the government, the portfolio holder was not required to present the new parity law, approved on Tuesday, the eve of International Women’s Day, in the Council of Ministers, in proof of the division with which the executive coalition between socialists and the far left entered the last year of the legislature.
Equality Minister Irene Montero is one of the leaders of the far-left Unidas Podemos platform, and divisions in the coalition over issues related to the portfolio have intensified in recent weeks, leading to what analysts and journalists see as the biggest internal crisis yet. current Spanish government.
The division will have its highest point on Tuesday afternoon, with parliament debating and voting first on an amendment to the sexual harassment law that was passed by the Equality Ministry and that the socialists will change. at the discretion of the coalition partner.
In Spain, elections will be held on May 28 in all municipalities, in 12 of the 17 autonomous regions and in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
National legislative elections will be held in December.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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