50/50: Spain will require by law an Equal Number of Men and Women in Important Posts

Spain will adopt a law that will equalize the number of men and women in important positions in politics and administration, as well as in large companies, said yesterday Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, quoted by BTA.

The prime minister announced that a bill had been prepared, according to which parity would become mandatory in the government, in electoral lists and in the governing bodies of large companies.

At the next government meeting on Tuesday, we will approve a law for equal representation of men and women in decision-making bodies, the Socialist leader announced at a meeting of his political force in Madrid.

Sanchez said both genders should be equally represented in both government and on the boards of companies with at least 250 employees, where at least 40 percent will be women, said government sources.

This reform also envisages the rotation of men and women on the electoral rolls and aims to enforce parity in the professional colleges that represent corporations, as well as in awarding committees.

"Once again we are at the vanguard of protecting women at the European level," said Sanchez, who heads a government in which women are the majority.

Spain is often held up as a benchmark for women's rights in Europe, especially after the 2004 adoption of a law against gender-based violence, as well as the adoption in February of a law to strengthen sexuality education, which also gives the right to leave during the monthly cycle.

In May, Spaniards will vote in regional and municipal elections, and at the end of the year there will be a parliamentary vote.