A few weeks ago, the media echoed the candidacy of a businesswoman who is the current financial director of the Chafiras Group, Victoria González, to preside over the Provincial Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (CEOE-Tenerife). Some of the questions that were asked to this businesswoman, with an impeccable professional career, dealt with whether being a woman could benefit or harm her candidacy, since if she were elected she would be the first woman to preside over this business association.
Questions like these make me reflect on whether there is real equality in our society and whether female leadership is still a taboo for Western culture. It is undeniable that the situation has changed and the role of women is not the same as years ago. However, equality, in the strictest sense of the word, will be achieved when news about the occupation of positions of power is not relevant for the mere fact of being performed by women, and when no one questions our validity and competence to make decisions.
In the 21st century, the presence of women in high positions is still a minority compared to that of men, who usually preside over the highest percentage of positions of responsibility in politics and public life. According to UN Women, only 22 countries have female heads of state or government, and 119 have never been presided over by women. Thus, it considers that, at the current rate, gender equality in the highest decision-making spheres will not be achieved for another 130 years.
My concern about these data is evident, but not only because of the low representation of women in leadership positions, but also at other levels of the public sphere. This concern has led us, from the Deputy Office for Equality and Gender Violence of the Diputación del Común, which I have directed since 2018, to recently investigate the degree of compliance with the principle of balanced representation in the Public Administration of the Canary Islands. The result of this analysis has only confirmed that we must continue fighting for equal and fair representation in public bodies and institutions.
While the figure of women continues to be excluded from decision-making spaces, we will never be able to know and make visible the benefits that female talent brings to the management and direction of companies, organizations or governments.
My commitment is to support future leaders and empowered women who break with established stereotypes, as well as to fight for balanced representation at all levels. The goal is to give way to a female talent that has been condemned to ostracism during all this time in the complicated path towards female leadership.
Beatriz Barrera Vera,
Deputy for Equality and Gender Violence
of the Diputación del Común