Culture and collective memory

Culture can be a key tool in the fight for equality and the transformation of societies. In this sense, it can become a space and also a channel to reinvent the worldview and delegitimize unequal power relations.

Women play an active and key role in cultural activity in the city, but they have not always been recognized. Their role in maintaining life throughout the centuries has been underestimated and their contributions to culture and society as a whole have always been conceived as secondary. Therefore, the recovery of historical memory is especially important to make visible the contributions of women to our society.

Cultural citizen activity

In general, gender differences are observed in the different cultural activities carried out by men and women: reading newspapers, books and magazines, watching films and performing arts, visiting exhibitions, using the internet, etc. In Barcelona, ​​the most used cultural facilities are libraries and civic centres and they also show patterns of differentiated use between women and men.

In addition, women generally have more difficulty participating in the cultural activities that are scheduled in the city, among other reasons because they dedicate more time than men to reproductive tasks, many of the cultural activities are carried out at inflexible times and no care spaces are provided.

Cultural planning

In the city, a gender imbalance is observed in the programmed cultural activities and the organizational structures of the sector. In other words, there is still a gender inequality that must be fought against in order to make cultural rights such as access, participation and contribution to culture effective.

Decision-making in the city’s cultural sphere

Decision-making spaces are far from being equal. The management of facilities that have a city program are clearly occupied by men. On the other hand, the management of local spaces shows the opposite situation, and are mostly in the hands of women. Precisely, these are spaces where the management job category has lower salaries.

Recognition and collective memory

The granting of awards and distinctions represents a recognition of the merit and prestige of people and entities in the city, and often becomes a source of distribution of economic resources. An example of recognition and collective memory are the names of the streets, in which there continues to be a greater proportion dedicated to male figures.