The Minister of Equality and Feminism of the Generalitat of Catalonia meets with the Women’s Council of the Zona Franca

• Eva Menor was received by the special delegate of the State at the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, at the DFactory Barcelona, where she held a meeting with the councilors of the Consell de la Dona ZF who have sent her their main concerns, as well as different proposals.

• The Minister has recognized the work of the Consell de la Dona ZF as an entity that makes visible and values female talent, favors the gender perspective and guarantees the equality of rights, and has presented the gender policies of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

Barcelona, January 14, 2025.- The Minister of Equality and Feminism of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Eva Menor Cantador, met this morning at the DFactory Barcelona with the ZF Women’s Council, headed by the special delegate of the State in the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, Pere Navarro, and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué. The ZF Women’s Council aims to make the female collective visible in the industrial field and works to promote equality between men and women, favoring the gender perspective and equal rights. In this meeting, Eva Menor explained the main lines of action that the Ministry will carry out in matters of equality, while collecting the main concerns and proposals transferred by all the participants.

During the meeting, Eva Menor explained the main lines of action on gender that the Generalitat de Catalunya is promoting, such as the Transversal Plan for Gender Equality 2023-2027 or the firm commitment to work-life balance policies, among others. Similarly, the Minister of Equality and Feminism has also emphatically highlighted that the main one is the eradication of sexist violence and has detailed some of the 32 measures for this purpose that the Government approved on November 25.

During the meeting held this morning, Menor recognized the work of the Consell de la Dona ZF, “which highlights and values female talent, favoring the gender perspective and guaranteeing the equalization of labor rights.” The Minister also highlighted “the constant work and involvement of the Women’s Council in the defense of women’s rights, which are fundamental for the construction of a fairer and more egalitarian society”.

For her part, the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, explained that “SDG number 5, which refers to equal gender opportunities, is an absolute priority for the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona and this is demonstrated by actions such as the creation of the Consell de la Dona ZF, with the participation of prominent executives from companies in our environment who are with us today, or the celebration of the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week, which this year from March 4 to 6 will celebrate its fifth edition”.

The representatives of the ZF Women’s Council learned about the Transversal Plan for Gender Equality of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which aims to advance in the systematic and transversal incorporation of the principle of equality between women and men in the services and programs of employment policies, and in the internal functioning of the organization. Likewise, Eva Menor also explained that the ministry is promoting conciliation policies that guarantee equality between men and women in the industrial and labor field, as well as developing measures against the wage gap and that eliminate gender bias in traditionally masculinized industrial professions.

On the other hand, she was also able to learn about the “Feel the ZF Power” program that is being promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona. This program, as Pere Navarro explained. “It aims to bring our activity, which is related to Industry 4.0, closer to school-age children. In this way we are ensuring that girls, who would never have considered working in these professions in the future, can be curious and attracted to an activity that, if they do not know it, they think is not for them and that it is only for men. It is essential that they can discover it at this early age because if not, it is too late”.

The meeting was held at the facilities of DFactory Barcelona, the internationally renowned industry 4.0 ecosystem promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), which currently brings together 35 companies in robotics, 3D printing, sensors, artificial intelligence, IoT, augmented and virtual reality and Blockchain.