A year after the equality plan between men and women came into force, an assessment has been made of the main achievements in driving labour equality in the municipal sphere, particularly in male-dominated sectors.
Notable priorities set out in the third equal opportunities plan between men and women for 2020-2023 include the application of the gender perspective in all policies which affect the organisation. This includes combating the gender divide and the glass ceiling, reviewing the assessment of jobs, internal promotion and access to positions of responsibility, evaluation of labour risks which particularly affect women, improved work-life balance and greater balance detection and prevention of harassment at work on the grounds of sex or gender.
The main achievements in the first year of the plan revolve around the increased presence of women in male-dominated sectors, such as the City Police and the Barcelona Fire Service, where recruitment processes have set aside a percentage of jobs to be filled by women.
A ten-point plan on good practice has also been established to guarantee equal opportunities between men and women in the selection and provision of staff, above all to guarantee equality when it comes to accessing positions of responsibility.
In terms of preventing sexual and gender-based harassment in municipal jobs, extra training in this area has been provided and work is in progress on an tool which allows people to anonymously report any cases of harassment at work.
The Covid-19 crisis has also affected mechanisms for work-life balance, which have been internally assessed to gauge the effects of work and the more flexible conditions adopted during the pandemic. Some 41% of women in municipal jobs with minors in their care chose to take advantage of work-life balance measures during the lockdown, compared to just 17.4% of their male counterparts in the same situation.