Government committed to ending inequality for women

THE draft bill on equality for women drawn up by the Balearic government includes various measures such as stepping up inspections at the work place to detect cases of discrimination or sexual harrassment at work. Deputy leader Rosa Estarás and Balearic leader Jaume Matas yesterday revealed details of the bill which will be presented to all the women in top posts in the administration tomorrow. The bill is now up for public inspection, during which unions, civic bodies etc can make their contributions, and it is part of the government's commitment to “advance in the defence of equality between men and women,” Matas said. Estaras said that the bill contemplates co-education from infancy, to erradicate stereotypes. There will also be measures to help reconcile family life with the workplace by extending school hours. The government will also withdraw aid from firms which are found guilty of practicing inequality, and there will be special work plans for women over 45 and women returning to work after pregnancy. The bill also covers the home, with a series of measures, and will set up an “observatory of non-sexist publicity”. There are also sections on sport and health and the bill should be approved by the end of the year. However, Cristina Carrasco, professor of economic theory at Barcelona University, was sceptic about plans to introduce equality in domestic tasks.
She said that women work three times as much in the home as men, and it is a “serious problem of social organisation,” adding that Spain is one of the worst countries in the West for this.