05 May 2006
Zapatero, Equality for Women in Business and Politics
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's self-described "feminist" prime minister, has begun his most ambitious effort yet to guarantee equality for women in business and politics, demanding that women make up at least 40 percent of the candidates from any political party and 40 percent of the members on corporate boards.
The initiative, which is expected to go before Parliament in June, is a signature proposal of Zapatero's campaign to make Spain a world leader in the expansion of civil liberties and the promotion of gender equality. His government says that the initiative is necessary to combat the stubborn vestiges of the patriarchal society over which General Francisco Franco presided until his death 30 years ago.
Source: International Herald Tribune
Actually, I don't think that making rules can help in something like that, what if there isn't many qualifid women in a certain business!?
Tags: Spain, Feminist, Gr33n Data
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Interesting article. We've struggled with this kind of thing for years. There are strong arguments for and against quotas like this. I think at the very least, if they're going to do this they need a specific date for it to end.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, there's a chance that qualified women are not available. It also taints the real achievements of women because there's always some question as to whether they really deserved that spot in the government or on corporate boards. Putting a woman in who is not qualified hurts everyone. On the other hand, if truly qualified women are being passed over because of their sex, and that's an ongoing and widespread problem, quotas like this may be the only solution. They shouldn't go on indefinitely, though.