GreenTalk - International Women's Day: A long tradition of feminism in Catalonia
Channel: Acció Exterior i Unió Europea
Date: 2021-03-08

We are happy to celebrate with you the international women’s day 2021. 

On this day we celebrate democracy, because women’s historic struggle for equality is a struggle for fundamental rights. It is an ongoing challenge that needs to be addressed every day of the year, and that affects half of the world’s population. No government or institution can remain indifferent to such a claim.

Spain, and specially Catalonia, have a long tradition in feminist movements. The first female minister in Spain, during the Second Republic, was a Catalan woman, Federica Montseny. Today, after the recent elections in Catalonia, we can celebrate the fact, that for the first time in history almost half of the deputies in the Catalan Parliament are women, with 64 seats over 135. 

The Government of Catalonia has approved a national plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda alongside the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGG`s). The SDG5, achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, is a priority for the Catalan government and actively perused in Catalan domestic politics as well as in international cooperation.

Therefore, it is a special honour to give the floor to three women from three different countries to share their thoughts and own experiences on gender equality on Women’s day:

- Petronela Halamova, Marketing Analyst by IPM Group (Bratislava)
Shares her experience growing up in a socialist country and the role women and the women’s day in Slovakia.
 
- Heidrun Kopp, Finance Expert & Head of the Institute for Sustainable Finance (Vienna) 
The IWD is for her an annual reminder that there is still a lot to do to grant women equal excess to cooperate careers, executive positions and fair payment. 

- Maria García, environmental activist by Ecologistes en Acció (Barcelona) 
Shares her opinion on gender equality from an eco-feminist perspective and claims the change of inequality needs to be connected to economic and political-social organizations.


Happy Women’s Day!