March 8, International Women's Day: we owe each other equality
8M is already par excellence the day of women's demand for equality. Equality in rights, in salaries, in representation... in many social, economic or labor aspects. The intensity of this movement and the strength of this date have motivated organizations of all signs and conditions to put their particular focus on conveying to society as a whole everything they do in favor of equality or drawing attention to what needs to be undertaken or improved.
As a society we cannot allow inequalities and injustices. In our country we are not exempt from situations of inequality that motivate us to continue with the demand. The Ministry of Equality has therefore developed a campaign under the motto “In Spain we call it igualdad”, inspired by a song by Rigoberta Bandini and which appeals “to feminism as something that makes life better for the majority of the population”, as specified by the entity.
Fraternidad-Muprespa adheres to this campaign, given that it shares the values that the Ministry exposes and disseminates. The date also becomes emblematic for the Mutual Collaborator with Social Security since it is the day on which its IV Equality Plan has been signed.
The main novelty in this IV Plan is the inclusion of the section “Results of the remuneration audit” which, with the new regulations, must be part of the equality plan of all companies. The two objectives of the salary audit are to respect the principle of remuneration transparency and guarantee equal remuneration for work of equal value. Other additional elements of analysis consist of comparing the current situation (as of December 31, 2020) with that of the initial diagnosis in 2008.
In addition, the programming of training actions to raise equality awareness for the entire workforce or the implementation of an evaluation with a gender perspective of digital skills, among others, continues.
For its part, the United Nations Organization has as its motto this year “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” Its connection with SDG 5 is evident, which states that
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but it is one of the essential foundations for building a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Where there is poverty, women are the ones who suffer the most, specifically, and according to UN figures, 70% of the 1.3 billion people who live in poverty are women. In urban areas, 40% of the poorest households are headed by women. Climate change also especially affects women and girls, as they make up 80% of those displaced by disasters and climate-related changes.
Although they work the land, they do not own it: they only own 10% of the land, but between 50% and 80% of global food production falls on women. The growing gender violence, the increase in child marriages and the worsening of sexual and reproductive health cannot be ignored. And if we refer to what we see in hundreds of images these days, women are becoming the sole breadwinners of thousands of families who have recently become refugees, exclusive caregivers, in the midst of a war situation.
A fundamental date in the annual calendar, of necessary vindication and especially dedicated to compliance with article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights, according to which
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are with reason and conscience, they must behave fraternally towards each other.
