Sánchez announces that the Government will tomorrow take "another step towards equality, approving the Strategic Plan for Effective Equality between Men and Women 2022-2025"

Círculo de Bellas Artes of Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that the Government will tomorrow take "another step towards equality, approving the Strategic Plan for Effective Equality between Men and Women 2022-2025" in the Council of Ministers.

He made this announcement during the commemorative event for International Women's Day, organised by the Ministry of Equality, which was held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, where the head of the Executive also stressed that the Senate will tomorrow approve the Proposed Organic Law to improve the protection of orphans who are victims of sex-based violence.

"We are certainly making progress, but we cannot let our guard down for a moment. We will not stop until this society is profoundly egalitarian, inclusive and just, and a place free of male violence," she added.

We cannot stop until we eradicate sex-based violence.

Sánchez regretted that "our society continues to live with the terror" that sex-based violence represents, and recalled that since 1 January 2003, the date from which we have records, 1,132 women have been murdered in Spain as victims of sexist terrorism, and six so far this year, two of these in under twenty-four hours. "There is an urgent need to eradicate sex-based violence from our society. We can't stop until we achieve it," the president remarked.

In this sense, he warned of the fact that "a part of society still denies sex-based violence" and of the "obvious link between the denial of this violence and the violence itself". For this reason, he insisted that "as long as a feminist culture and education are not shared, as long as the codes in relationships are born of misogyny, they will be in danger".

During his speech, the president of the Government of Spain also pointed out that Spain ranks sixth in the EU in terms of gender equality and that we have the Government with the most women in the European Union and in its entire history: 60.9% of its members are women ministers. However, in his opinion, "what makes us a feminist Government is that we do feminist politics. This is what is truly transformative, turning feminism into a transversal policy", because "a culture of equality can only be consolidated with public policies that have a gender perspective". In this regard, he recalled that we are the only EU country that has incorporated gender equality as one of the pillars on which the transformative processes linked to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan are based .

A record budget allocation for the Ministry of Equality

Pool Moncloa / Fernando CalvoSánchez also highlighted the fact that, in the General State Budget for 2022, "the allocation for the Ministry of Equality exceeds 500 million euros, a record figure: 225 million euros in policies to promote equal opportunities and an 55.7% increase in investment to combat the scourge of male violence through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan".

In his opinion, "in a truly modern and economically competitive country, we need more women in more decision-making areas, in any of their dimensions". As an example of this, the president highlighted that, "thanks to the combined action of the Government and civil society, we have managed to go from 31% of women on the boards of directors of state-owned public companies in 2015 to 37% in 2020, six points more".

Finally, the head of the Executive wanted to end by recognising the value of feminism as "a broad, integrating movement, which thinks of men, women and the fair coexistence in full equality of citizens as a whole" and which "improves our societies". "It is only through feminism that we will build the best democracies, which is what some people do not want to see happen in Europe," he concluded.

The event was also attended by the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría; the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the Minister for Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra; the Minister for Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, and the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, as well as the Director of the Women's Institute, Mª Antonia Morillas.

Non official translation