1. On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), how would you assess the current state of equality between women and men in the professional sphere in Catalonia? What are the main challenges that still remain today?
Equality between women and men in the professional sphere in Catalonia shows some progress, but it still reveals deep structural inequalities that largely originate from the unequal distribution of care work and persistent discrimination within the labour market.
On the one hand, the gender pay gap still stands at 16.7% (2023), although it has decreased compared to 19.5% in 2022. The pay gap cannot be understood simply as a matter of salaries; rather, it is the result of a system in which women experience more career interruptions related to caregiving responsibilities, higher rates of part-time work and temporary employment, and a greater presence in lower-paid sectors.
This inequality accumulates over the course of a lifetime and results in a very significant pension gap of 23.54% (an average of €405 less in contributory pensions). This reflects more precarious and discontinuous career paths and helps explain why many older women face situations of vulnerability. In this sense, it can be said that women not only earn less during their working lives, but also accumulate fewer economic rights for the future.
As for the labour market, dynamics of segregation and precariousness persist. There are fewer women in employment overall, and there is a strong concentration in feminised sectors—often less valued and lower paid—such as care work. In addition, women continue to assume the majority of family responsibilities: nearly 80% of leave and care-related absences for children and dependent persons are requested by women. This reality affects women’s availability for work and limits their opportunities for promotion.
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In addition, there are structural barriers such as the glass ceiling and sticky floors, which make both access to leadership positions and the ability to move out of precarious situations more difficult. Even in highly feminised sectors such as healthcare, leadership roles continue to be held predominantly by men, which shows that inequality is not only about access, but also about power.
In summary, the main remaining challenges involve redistributing care work, tackling precarious and part-time employment, ensuring continuous and decent career paths for women, and breaking down the barriers that prevent equitable access to decision-making spaces. Without addressing these structural roots, inequalities will continue to be reproduced throughout the entire life cycle
2. Throughout your career, you have been closely involved in local economic development. What barriers do women still face when starting or consolidating a business project?
Throughout my career in the field of local economic development, I have observed that women continue to face significant barriers both when starting businesses and when consolidating entrepreneurial projects. These difficulties stem from structural factors linked to gender inequality.
First of all, gender stereotypes continue to play an important role. Even today, there is still a biased perception of leadership and entrepreneurship, often associated with traditionally masculine values. This can lead to less initial credibility being granted to projects led by women, as well as lower confidence in their capacity for growth or scalability, both from investors and within professional environments.
Secondly, access to financial resources remains unequal. In many cases, women start with less personal capital due to more precarious or interrupted career paths, often linked to caregiving responsibilities. This situation also results in greater difficulties in accessing external funding, whether due to a lack of guarantees, smaller professional networks, or biases in project evaluation processes.
In addition, the unequal distribution of care work once again appears as a key factor. On average, women have less time and more constraints when it comes to fully dedicating themselves to business development. Ultimately, the main obstacles are not due to a lack of ability or initiative, but rather to an environment that still does not offer equal starting conditions or opportunities for growth.
3. And what strengths do you think women have, compared to men, when it comes to entrepreneurship?
In terms of strengths, many women bring values and skills that are particularly relevant in today’s entrepreneurial landscape, and which are often linked both to our life experiences and to the way we approach complex environments. There are many, but I would highlight a few
First of all, emotional intelligence stands out. Women often develop skills such as empathy, active listening, and relationship management, which are essential for better understanding clients’ needs, leading teams effectively, and negotiating with sensitivity. These competencies allow us to build projects that are more closely connected to reality and more sustainable over time.
Secondly, we tend to exercise a more collaborative and less hierarchical leadership style. We support more cooperative models that foster cohesive teams and stronger employee commitment. This is especially valuable in changing environments, where team engagement is key.
Finally, we have developed a strong capacity for adaptation and resilience. Many of us have had to grow professionally in environments with more barriers and often while balancing work with caregiving responsibilities. This reality has made us more flexible, more resilient, and highly capable of reinventing ourselves.
4. What policies or initiatives is the Department of Equality and Feminism promoting to support women’s entrepreneurship?
The Department of Equality and Feminism promotes several policies and initiatives to support women’s entrepreneurship, with an approach that combines training, financial support, and structural transformation of working conditions. Some of the most notable programmes include:
- Training and capacity-building programmes: We offer a wide range of courses and training sessions, including virtual formats, aimed at promoting equity in work, co-responsibility, and recognition of care work, as well as the reorganisation of time use. These programmes provide women with the tools they need to develop business projects under more equal conditions.
- Combating stereotypes: Initiatives such as +Women+Future (+Dones+Futur) work to break down biases and stereotypes that hinder women’s presence in sectors and positions traditionally dominated by men.
- Catalan Agenda for Work–Life Balance and Co-responsibility: This is a shared roadmap to advance work–life balance and co-responsibility in the workplace, with clear objectives: promoting time-organisation measures from a gender perspective, creating and disseminating good practices, connecting research with public policies, and bringing together all stakeholders involved in this transformation.
- COSIFE – Line A: This programme promotes the democratisation of care, the reorganisation of time, equity in work, and coeducation, with specific sub-lines that allow funding for concrete actions in each of these areas.
- Grants for equality plans in small companies: Companies with fewer than 50 employees can access support to implement equality plans and training on gender equality, addressing structural causes that hinder women’s entrepreneurship. This foundation is key to ensuring that other measures—such as funding or mentoring—are truly effective.
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Mentoring programmes: We are developing specific programmes for highly male-dominated sectors, with the aim of connecting women with role models and professional networks that enable them to consolidate their projects. It is important to highlight that these initiatives form part of a broader, cross-cutting Government strategy, with an investment of more than €600 million, which also includes specific women’s entrepreneurship programmes within the Department of Business, such as the Women and Business Working Group (Grup de treball Dona i Empresa) and Women Entrepreneur (Dona Emprèn).
This set of policies aims not only to provide individual support, but also to transform the structural conditions that allow women to undertake entrepreneurial initiatives and lead on equal terms.
5. What message would you like to share with women who are thinking about starting a business or are already developing a professional or entrepreneurial project?
Starting a business as a woman is not just an individual decision.
We know that starting a business as women is not only a personal choice. It is an act that often challenges structures that have historically excluded, made invisible, or precarised women’s work. That is why, if you have an idea, a project, or even an intuition—put it into action. You are not alone, and what you do has value, even if the system often makes you doubt it.
We also want to remind you that you do not need to fit into the traditional model of business success, which is often competitive and focused solely on economic profit. There are other ways of doing business: more collaborative, sustainable, rooted in the local territory, and people-centred. This way of undertaking entrepreneurship is also a form of innovation.
It is important to be cautious about the myth of the “superwoman” who can do everything. Feminism involves recognising our limits, sharing responsibilities, and building support networks. Forming alliances with other women and collectives can be just as important as the project itself.
Finally, claiming space, funding, and recognition is not selfish—it is justice. We have the right to make a dignified living from our work and to occupy decision-making positions. From the Department, we are working to ensure that all women have the same opportunities as men to develop and grow professionally.
6. The motto of Autoocupació is “I am what I want to be.” And you—are you?
I am very fortunate to be able to say that I am what I want to be. My career has been shaped by a strong vocation for public service and by the conviction that women can be anything we set our minds to. However, not everyone has the same opportunities, and that is why, from my position, I work so that every person can be what they want to be, with equal rights and without discrimination based on sex, origin, religion, or age, among other factors.
Public policies and resources must serve to improve society, eliminate discrimination, and ensure that the principles of equality, equity, and justice are universal. From the Government, we want the postal code where you are born to matter less and less, and the opportunities that life can offer you in our country to matter more and more
