During his speech at the opening ceremony of the 1st International Congress entitled "The Voice of Women in the World", organised by AFAMMER, the President of the Government announced that the Council of Ministers will soon approve a Rural Women Empowerment Plan. He also "strongly" condemned the violence suffered by women all over the world simply for being women.
Mariano Rajoy highlighted the fundamental role played by the women who live in the rural environment, six million in Spain. He said that women contribute to the development of social and economic life in rural surroundings, care for the local environment, ensure the success of farming operations and keep villages alive.
Furthermore, he announced that the Council of Ministers will soon approve a Rural Women Empowerment Plan that seven ministerial departments are currently working on. This plan, which is going to develop the provisions of the Strategic Plan for Equal Opportunities, will coordinate rural environment equality policies in a comprehensive fashion for the first time in Spain.
It will "foster entrepreneurship, self-employment and the participation of women in the sustainability of the rural environment". It will also promote reconciliation and increase the presence of women in executive positions and on the executive boards of farming cooperatives.
The President of the Government stressed that the rural world in Spain does indeed have a future because, besides being the cornerstone of farming life, it is a source of environmental resources that promote other activities, such as leisure, tourism, culture and agro-industrial transformation.
In this regard, Mariano Rajoy said that the Government of Spain "is going to do everything within its power to ensure that the opportunities created there lead to tangible results for everyone".
Women in the labour market
The President of the Government listed some of the measures adopted by his government to "overcome those problems of unequal opportunities" and "foster the employment of women throughout the country". He specifically mentioned the tax break for the recruitment of women through positive programmes and actions to improve employability and self-employment.
He said that women account for 46% of National Insurance contributors. Mariano Rajoy is convinced that this figure can be increased and that it will be possible over the coming years to achieve a 50/50 distribution between men and women.
Real equality between men and women
Mariano Rajoy underlined the government’s commitment to achieving real equality between men and women. He explained this is not only "an act of justice, logic and common sense" but that everyone "needs" – men and women – to help generate greater progress and increased well-being.
The President of the Government stressed that "men and women are – through diversity – equally valuable and necessary for building a better future" because "a country is made up of all the people" who live there. In his opinion, this is not a problem of legislation but rather "requires a fundamental change of mentality".
"We need to progress as a country, with a more balanced, varied and richer outlook; that is the challenge for the future", he said.
Condemnation of violence against women
The President of the Government expressed his outright condemnation of the violence suffered by women all over the world "purely and simply for being women". Besides reiterating his "firm and unwavering commitment to the eradication of such violence", he said that putting an end to this violence is a priority for Spain and a matter of State. In this regard, he sent a clear message to those women who may be suffering abuse: "there is a way out and you are not alone".
20 million Spaniards in work
In his speech, Mariano Rajoy recalled that "we have lived through a very difficult period" that began to change in 2014 as jobs started to be created and 440,000 people found a job. In 2015, there will be 500,000 more Spaniards in work.
The goal for the coming years, said the President of the Government, is for "20 million Spaniards to be able to work and pay National Insurance". In his opinion, that goal can indeed be achieved if the economic policy continues unchanged.
Other Speakers
At the opening ceremony of the 1st International Congress entitled "The Voice of Rural Women in the World", speeches were also given by Rosa Romero, Mayor of Ciudad Real; Carmen Quintanilla, President of AFAMMER (Confederation of Federations and Associations of Families and Women in the Rural Environment); Babatunde Osomethin, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund; and María Dolores de Cospedal, President of the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha.
Mariano Rajoy also thanked AFAMMER and its President, Carmen Quintanilla, both for organising the congress opened today in Ciudad Real and their tireless work on reaching the goal of full equality.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/46957/
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NEWS BITES 13 APRIL 2015
