· CEPES, the
employers of the sector, and all its associative fabric join the commemoration
of international women´s Day of the UN, which this year is celebrated under the
slogan ´Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow´
· The business
model of the social economy promotesequality between men and women, with 48% of
contracts for women in their companies and a presence of 58.1% of women in
management positions
· The business
fabric of the social economy provides job opportunities for women
entrepreneurs, women in rural areas, especially
in the agri-food sector and in fishermen´s guilds, women with disabilities and / or other groups at risk of exclusion
Madrid, March 08, 2022.- The Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES) and
its entire associative fabric adhere to the commemoration of the International Women´s Day of the UN, which
this year 2022 is celebrated under the slogan
´Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow´.
Thus, the employers of the sector show their strong commitment to the promotion of
equality and women´s rights, as well as their rejection of any situation of
violence or discrimination.
According to the study ´The socioeconomic impact of the values and principles of the Social
Economy in Spain´, prepared by CEPES, 48% of the contracts that are made in
social economy companies are for women. On the other hand, the report reveals
that companies and entities in this field are more diverse in management and
high qualification from the point of view of gender compared to other existing
business models, since the presence of
women in management positions is 58.1%.
"This study empirically demonstrates the
differential behavior of social economy companies with respect to other models,
since it confirms that the behavior of social economy companies and entities
translates into more inclusive economic growth and the reduction of
inequalities, which positively affects the configuration of their workforces
and working conditions," declares
the president of CEPES, Juan Antonio
Pedreño.
DIVERSITY OF ASSOCIATIVE TISSUE
The employers of the sector have a Working
Group on Women, through which it promotes and makes visible the work carried
out by the social economy for sustainable development goal (SDG) nº5, which
promotes ´Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls´.
Some data and projects of the associative
fabric of the Spanish social economy highlighted by the Working Group on Women
of CEPES are the following:
▪ Working women in rural areas. In Spain there are more than a quarter of a million women (264,168) members
in agri-food cooperatives that contribute to sustainability in its three
aspects: economic, social and environmental of the rural territory.
In this sector, the Association of Women of Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain (AMCAE),
promotes the participation of women in the decision-making areas of
cooperatives. In this way, since 2017 it has gone from 6.8% of women present on
the governing councils of cooperatives to 8%, reaching 1,519 women. In
addition, 4.4% (108 women) hold the presidency of a cooperative. On the other
hand, AMCAE organized in 2021 a total of 11 days in several Autonomous
Communities in which 270 women participated with the aim of empowering,
training, and transferring knowledge for decision making, leading
responsibility tasks and new business deposits.
▪ Working women in cooperatives. Cooperatives have been the way to
access the world of work for a large number of women, who, through this model,
have also become entrepreneurs.
Since 1987, the Spanish Confederation of Worker Cooperatives (COCETA) has opened a
specific line of work to promote the cooperative model and its good practices
among women.
The latest data indicate that women represent
more than 51% of the workforce of worker cooperatives. Of these, 38.5% have two children. In addition, in management and
responsibility positions, an average of 54% is reached. In addition,
almost 80 per
cent of the women working in worker cooperatives are working members.
In addition, COCETA initiated a
European project together with the Directorate-General for Justice of the
European Commission, promoted by the entity DIESIS, called ´SET THE TONE´,m
with the aim of identifying the existence of measures and policies against
violence and harassment in the workplace. In the research carried out, it was
corroborated that in Spain, in worker cooperatives, 75% rated as useful and
positive the existence of laws that promote gender equality and opportunities
for men and women both in the labor market and in society.
Likewise, 75% indicated that the
measures included in the legislation in Spain are serving to promote greater
equality of opportunities between women and men. The research also deduced that
95% of the responses did not know the existence of cases of violence or
harassment at work in the work cooperative, partly due to the existence of
Equality Plans and specific measures in the Risk Prevention Plans, as well as
the training that has been carried out in this regard in the work cooperatives.
Within AndalucíaEScoop
there are two very active entities that work for the benefit of equality. Thus, Amecoop and Amcae Andalucía represent
women cooperative workers and in the agri-food sector, respectively, and are
responsible for promoting equal opportunities in the Andalusian cooperative
sector, working for the integration of women in cooperatives, as well as in
their decision-making bodies.
Another sector of cooperatives in
which equality between women and men and the empowerment of women and girls are
manifested is that of educational
cooperatives. Teaching is a historically feminized
profession, especially in the early stages of teaching, since most teachers in
Spain are women. These general data are transferred to the cooperative
education sector in which 65% of jobs are held by women.
From the Spanish Union of Teaching Cooperatives (UECoE), its associated entities and teaching cooperatives,
all of them aligned in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and
specifically No. 5, actions are encouraged and promoted to achieve gender
equality and empower all women and girls,
promoting STEAM vocations that reduce this gender gap in this training
from their classrooms.
For their part, consumer and user cooperatives are very involved
with effective equality between men and women. In fact,
data from Hispacoop (Spanish Confederation of Consumer and User Cooperatives),
indicate that ofthe total number of workers in the cooperatives they represent,
75% are women. Asfor positions of responsibility, around 60% are women. In
addition, in the reconciliation of family and work life, co-responsibility
between men and women is encouraged with regard to the care of children and
other dependents in the home.
As an example of the role of
women in cooperative food distribution companies, we find Covirán, in which almost 50% of the social base of the cooperative
in Spain is made up of women members, whose presence is majority in rural
areas; while in Portugal its influence has increased by almost 5 points in the
last year, standing at 40%.
An autonomous example of the
presence of women in cooperatives is the Valencian Community. Thus, according
to data from the Confederation of
Cooperatives of the Valencian Community (CONCOVAL), the presence of women in management positions is 58.1% compared to 51.2% in
other business models, being smaller the wage gap between men and women -6%
compared to 20% in other business models-.
▪ Women with disabilities. In the Special Employment Centres of the
Social Initiative, almost 40% of the workforce are womenwith disabilities, with
59% being women with disabilities over 45 years of age.
Through the Spanish Business Federation of Associations of Special Employment
Centers (FEACEM) and the associative entities that represent disability,
the access of women with disabilities to the labor market is promoted on equal
terms with men; and actively fights to eradicate the double discrimination that
women with disabilities continue to suffer when accessing the labor
market, for the fact of being a woman
and for having a disability and against job insecurity and the wage gap that
women with disabilities suffer with greater intensity.
▪ Women in labor societies. 30% of the members of labor societies
are women, according to Laborpar. In
addition, women´s participation on the board of directors is 35 per cent.
At the regional level, there are several
projects aimed at empowering women in these societies, encouraging their
incorporation into the decision-making bodies of their companies where their
contribution is of incalculable value.
Likewise, as entities of the social economy,
labor societies contribute to stable and quality employment.
§ Women in
Insertion Companies. Through the Federation of Business Associations of Insertion Companies (FAEDEI)
employment is generated for 7,669 people, of which 51.5% (3,956) are women. Of
these, 2,153 are women workers in insertion and 1,803 occupy professional
positions, both technical and managerial. In addition, 67% of insertion
companies have measures for equal opportunities and 80% have measures to
reconcile family and work life.
§ Mujeres in
Fishermen´s Guilds. Given the important role of women in the
fishing sector, the National Federation
of Fishermen´s Guilds has created an ad-hoc group of Women formed by senior
employers, senior vice-patrons, secretaries, and members of the Brotherhoods
and its objective is to give visibility to women in the Fishermen´s Guilds and
Federations.
In the 198 brotherhoods,30,628 sailors and shipowners are affiliated, of whom 3,607 are women. In
relation to the marisqueo, also included in the cofradías, there are 3,802, of
which 2,393 are women.
In its brotherhoods work 9 women who hold the position of senior patrons
and 30 of senior vice-patrons, and there are 85 secretaries who direct and
coordinate the brotherhood. In the governing bodies of the National
Federationthere is a vice-president and two members.
