Spain: new measures seek to foster gender equality at work

On 1 March the Spanish government approved a decree-law containing urgent measures to guarantee equal treatment and equal opportunities for men and women at work. The legislation seeks to close the gender pay gap, by increasing pay transparency obligations, and to achieve a better level of balance and shared responsibility between parents, increasing the length of paternity leave from 5 to 8 weeks and providing for a progressive rise towards 16 weeks over the next three years.
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Carmen Calvo, minister for equality, presented the main points of new measures that were approved by Spain’s council of ministers. She highlighted that, with the government having recently failed to pass its budget, certain parts of the legislation had to be abandoned. For example, the aim of making equal representation of men and women on company boards an obligation within five years has been shelved “for now”, according to the minister. The government has settled with a reiteration of severa

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