The Women’s Council of the Barcelona Free Zone commemorates its fifth anniversary

• The CZFB has reviewed its main lines of action and the milestones achieved during an event that featured the participation of Clara Arpa, President of the United Nations Global Compact in Spain.

• With the participation of 26 companies that have contributed to driving key initiatives in the field of equality, Blanca Sorigué, Director General of the CZFB, stated that ‘this Council is more necessary than ever, as there is still much to be done to achieve true equality in the business world.

Barcelona, September 15, 2025.– The Women’s Council of the Zona Franca of Barcelona held an event this afternoon at DFactory Barcelona to commemorate its 5th anniversary. The event featured the participation of Clara Arpa, President of the United Nations Global Compact in Spain, who joined Blanca Sorigué, Director General of CZFB, in a gathering that brought together the 26 female executives from the companies that are part of the Council.

Blanca Sorigué, Director General of the CZFB (Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona), welcomed all attendees and highlighted “the role of the Zona Franca Consortium of Barcelona in its firm commitment to contributing to the achievement of SDG number 5, which focuses on gender equality, through initiatives such as the Women’s Council ZF itself, the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), or the Feel the ZF Power program, which aims to inspire vocations in the field of Industry 4.0 and STEM professions, especially among school-aged girls between 9 and 12 years old”. In reviewing the main initiatives promoted by the Zona Franca of Barcelona, Sorigué recalled that “the Women’s Council of the Zona Franca was born shortly before the health pandemic, and today, in a very different context and five years later, we can affirm that it has become a very useful and effective tool that, through dialogue, collaboration, and a commitment to gender equality in the business environment, has succeeded in driving initiatives that have allowed us to make significant progress. However, this Council is more necessary than ever because there is still much to be done to achieve real equality in the business world”.

For her part, Clara Arpa, President of the United Nations Global Compact in Spain, shared an inspiring reflection with all members of the Women’s Council, emphasizing that “today, the Global Compact faces three major challenges: one is encouraging girls to pursue tech careers; another is helping companies overcome their fear of integrating technologies to create a more sustainable world; and the third challenge is achieving true equality, understanding that yes, we are different, and society has changed”. She also added that “we have two immediate goals: to expand beyond Madrid and increase our presence in other regions of Spain, and to give more importance to small and medium-sized enterprises, as they are the ones with the fewest resources”.

It is worth remembering that the Women’s Council of the Barcelona Free Zone is a space for reflection where trust and mutual understanding foster the creation of a support and shared learning network, with a strong commitment to promoting active gender equality policies.

Currently, the companies that are part of the Women’s Council of the Barcelona Free Zone include: Aigües de Barcelona, Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, Àrea 8, Akzo Nobel, Barcelona Centre Logístic, Cellnex Telecom, COCEMFE Barcelona, Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, Covestro, DB Schenker, FCC Medioambiente, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, Hobbyplant, Malena Engineering, Mercabarna, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, Parc Logístic ZF, Port de Barcelona, Quimidroga, SABA, SEAT, SERTRAM, TM2 (Servicios Recipe TM2 S.A.), Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, ZAL Port, and Unió de Polígons Industrials de Catalunya.