It is curious to think that there was a time when women did not work, that their role corresponded to child-rearing and household chores and that, solely as a matter of gender, they had no place in the world of work. There was a time, not so long ago, when the role of women in the world of work was not a gendered one, but a time when women had no place in the world of work. women in the labour market was lacking by its absence.
After the arrival of the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century, women entered the labour market under deplorable conditions and took on trades considered to be feminine, such as dressmaking or button production. It was not, however, until the 8 March 1910, The first time that women were able to raise their voices at the International Socialist Women's Conference in order to improve their conditions was when they were able to do so. Since then, women in the labour market have been able to win rights that used to belong to men. Do you want to know more about them?
Although this may sound like science fiction, when a woman married her husband in the 20th century, he had to authorise many of the decisions the woman made through marital leave. For example, the man decided whether or not to authorise the woman to work, depending on the occupation.
It was not until 2 May 1975 that wives were allowed to choose their jobs without restriction. free entry of women into the labour market in Spain.
Nor was there always maternity or paternity leave!
As far as maternity leave is concerned, it is known that as early as 1900 women who gave birth received three weeks off work. However, paternity leave was introduced in 1980.. In particular, the father had two days off, which, as you can imagine, was not a significant improvement in conditions.
In fact, in 1989 there were still only four days of paternity leave, while mothers already received 16 weeks. This, on the one hand, enabled women to improving their work-life balance, On the other hand, it discriminated against women in the labour market.
Fortunately, paternity and maternity leave is now 16 weeks, an unprecedented achievement in the country, which translates into equal opportunities for women to apply for jobs.
In 2007, with the arrival of the Organic Law of 22 March, sexual harassment in the workplace was strictly prohibited, as well as discrimination or harassment of women due to pregnancy or other reasons. Other laws such as the Workers' Statute also state that harassment can be grounds for dismissal for any employee who engages in such practices.
As a result, women in the labour market today have more avenues to communicate if they are feeling harassed or if they have been harassed by a co-worker, which has helped women to really be heard in their immediate environment.
Since 2021, equality plans have been mandatory for companies with more than 100 individuals in the workforce, which allows for a diagnosis of the situation of the team and whether a number of requirements such as equal pay for men and women are actually being met. After the diagnosis, the committee implements a series of measures and a monitoring system to determine whether the objectives are being met.
Although the gains in rights have been costly and have not appeared overnight, they have certainly been fruitful and have shown that change is possible. For this very reason, Women's Day serves as a reminder of all that has been done and all that remains to be done. What about you? women's achievements in the labour market Which ones are most visible in your company? Which ones are still to be achieved? Tell us about them and don't forget to share if you liked them!
