Spanish govt to favour companies with female execs

Companies with female executives or board members will receive favoured treatment in bidding for Spanish government contracts under a broad new affirmative action programme passed by the Cabinet.

The government will also negotiate with unions and employers to try to broaden part-time work arrangements – virtually unheard of in Spain – for women with children under 12 or who are taking care of an elderly person at home.

The 53 new measures passed at a Cabinet meeting on Friday take effect immediately, though the government hopes to write a bill by this summer complementing them and have it passed by Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega called them “53 steps on the road toward full equality for women”.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who took power in April, has declared himself a die-hard feminist and made improving the lot of women one of the main goals of his government.

His 16-member Cabinet includes eight women, a first in Spain and one of the most feminine in Europe.

Other measures in the new programme aim to encourage the hiring of women in both the private sector and for government jobs. The jobless rate among Spanish women is 14.4 %, compared to 7.5 % among men.

Labour Minister Jesus Caldera complained that, although Spanish universities churn out more female graduates than males, women were scarcely represented at senior levels in the Spanish business world.

For instance, he said, among the 35 companies that make up the Spanish stock market’s main index, only 2% of board members were women.