Spain passes bill to mandate gender parity at highest levels of decision-making

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s government passed a draft bill on Tuesday to mandate gender parity in large companies, civil service and government institutions.

Spain’s progressive government said the move “situates Spain on the vanguard” of promoting gender equality.

The bill, which still needs to be turned into law, would force publicly listed companies to ensure their boards of directors are made up of at least 40% women by 2024. By 2026, companies with more than 250 workers or that earn more than €50 million ($52 million) would have to do the same.

The same quota would apply to professional associations, courts and other civil services.

The government would also be forced to ensure that at least 40% of its ministers are female.

Currently, slightly more than 60% of Spanish ministers are women – one of the highest levels in the world.

However, Spain’s business community would still need to make significant advances to meet the quotas.

At the end of 2021, women made up 29% of the board members of Spain’s listed companies, according to its market regulator CNMV, which recommends that companies include at least 40% of women on boards.

The 2021 figure does contain significant progress. In 2017, 81% of board members of Spanish-listed companies were men.

The new bill would also force political parties to ensure gender equality between candidates running for office.

Currently, all major parties in Spain have close to or above 40% female members of parliament, except for the Basque nationalist party PNV and the far-right Vox party, which has the lowest level of female politicians.

In Vox, just 27% of politicians at the national level are women.

“If women represent half of society, half of the political and economic power should be theirs too,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez this weekend.

However, not everyone is on board with the concept, which also falls in line with targets approved by the EU in June. In general, detractors argue that it undermines meritocracy, while its supporters say it creates a level playing field for women, as the halls of power have historically favored men.

Isabel Ayuso, the president of the Popular Party in the Region of Madrid, criticized the quota system and Spain’s pioneering new law allowing people to change gender without a medical exam.

“If I need to, tomorrow I’ll use the auto-determination of gender, and we’ll turn my male vice president and male justice minister into women … that way, we’ll be able to better manage and solve problems for our citizens,” she quipped on Monday.