On Tuesday 24 January, Barcelona City Council presented an international conference at the Born Centre for Culture and Memory. Leading feminist experts were present to debate the primary strategies and challenges in the field of gender mainstreaming.
The fourth Deputy Mayor and head of the Area of Social Rights, Global Justice, Feminism and LGBTI Affairs, Laura Pérez Castaño, was in charge of opening the event. She emphasised that Barcelona City Council has been promoting feminist policies for years, highlighting those that incorporate caregiving into the public agenda – such as the Carer’s Card – and those that tackle the feminisation of poverty, pointing out that more than 36 million euros have been allocated for grants awarded to women from vulnerable groups, and more than 24,000 women have participated in 25 programmes for activation, training and job placement.
She also noted that Barcelona is one of the few cities that has an internal regulation, the Regulation for Gender Equity, which institutionalises gender mainstreaming and provides mechanisms to make it effective. Likewise, it is a pioneer in the creation of a network of gender mainstreaming references. Finally, the Deputy Mayor concluded that it is more necessary than ever to create alliances and networks at all levels in order to defend and advance feminist policies in the face of anti-gender discourses.
One of the conference’s central themes was gender mainstreaming in institutional practice. María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, Member of the European Parliament, stated that there is a lack of coherence, coordination and commitment in the European Union when it comes to gender mainstreaming incorporation and monitoring. She likewise stressed that in various European Union countries, significant reversals have taken place in the areas of sexual and reproductive rights.
However, Miren Elgarresta Larrabide, Director of Emakunde – Basque Institute for Women, and Sonia Ruiz García, Director of Gender Services and Time Policies of Barcelona City Council, agreed that obstacles must be progressively overcome and stressed the importance of using a variety of mechanisms to consolidate gender mainstreaming. They noted that political commitment, the existence of a legal framework, a solid programmatic basis and training for government staff are key factors
Sonia Ruiz García also stressed the necessity of merging gender mainstreaming and intersectionality, saying that this requires additional training and more resources (in the form of financial resources, personnel and time). She pointed out that, while it doubtlessly makes public policy more complex, it also “brings it to the street and makes it more real”.
The other fundamental issue discussed was feminist politics in the face of forces that oppose equality and democracy. In her inaugural speech, Myra Marx Ferree, professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed out that “right-wing parties are very good at attacking feminism, defending itself as being profamily.” She also expressed concern about far-right attacks on issues such as sexual and reproductive rights.
Mieke Verloo, professor of comparative politics and inequality at Radboud University, highlighted that brutal attacks are taking place that reverse past feminist advances with anti-democratic strategies and discourses. Noelia Igareda González, professor of legal philosophy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, added that feminism is ridiculed as an extremist ideology and that these anti-gender movements are very active on social networks, where they employ simplistic language to reach a large public (including young people). In response to this issue, Neil Datta, secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, emphasised the importance of defending democratic institutions, human rights and feminist movements. Andrea Krizsan, professor of public policy at the Central European University, also agreed on the need for the feminist movement to work towards strengthening democracy and the importance of legitimising the struggle for gender equality. Malin Björk, Member of the European Parliament, concluded that if we do not take care of people, there is no hope.
Sara Berbel Sánchez, the Chief Executive, made the closing speech, reinforcing that in the face of these many obstacles we must focus on finding the courage and strength to continue the fight. “We are not the first and we will not be the last.” And that, in this on-going fight, one of the most powerful tools is working as a collective: “the network is essential, for women the network is a matter of survival”. For the Chief Executive, the network model is more horizontal than vertical and creates a multiplier effect and a truly transformational type of leadership.
You can view the video of the conference and the photo gallery.