Spain vs Machismo - Building Gender Balanced Business

The male-dominated culture of corporate Spain, with the longest workday in Europe, is in for changes. A new law pushes for gender equality, mandating equal pay for equal work and pushing larger companies to recruit women harder – but a section on greater representation at company boards was somewhat defanged. Then a Barcelona judge came down hard on El Cortes Ingles, ruling that the large department store had long discriminated against women when it came to promotions. The elderly patriarch of the company said the company simply was reflecting society in its promotion policies.

Financial times 12/09/07,
Spanish court deals blow to macho culture

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has not only set up a cabinet with a female majority, he has vowed to eradicate wage discrimination by the end of his new four-year term.

The problem is, his previous similar goals were not matched by strong legislation, nor did the ministries run by women in his first government receive adequate funding.

Financial Times 16/04/08,
Feminist Zapatero puts focus on women

Herald Tribune International 17/04/08,
Spain absorbing shock over new, pregnant defense minister

Italian insults “too pink” Spain

Silvio Berlusconi said his Spanish counterpart, Prime Minister Zapatero, “will have problems leading” the women who make up a slight majority of the government in Madrid. “In Italy there is a prevalence of men in politics and therefore it is not so easy to find women who are ready for the government,” Berlusconi added.

Trying to make up for his not-uncommon playboy parlance, Berlusconi later eaked out that “it’s possible that the female members take a series of measures stemming from the everyday life, from the concrete reality of being a mother, a wife and perhaps also a working woman.” Perhaps even.

EU Observer 17/04/08,
Berlusconi Insults Spain with remark on female ministers