Jobs for the Girls

May 1st 2008 | MADRID From The Economist print edition Spains goernment wants firms to shoot down more than female directors THE sight of Spains heavily pregnant disaffirmation minister inspecting the troops in early April seemed to herald a new era of opportunity for Spanish women. Spain is the first European country ever to produce a government with more female than male ministers. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the prime minister, has appointed nine women and octonary men to his new cabinet, including Carme Chacon, Spains first female defence minister. despite their sudden ascendancy in politics, however, women argon still often absent from the upper ranks of business. Spanish women make up full 4.1% of corporate boards, according to a study by the European Professional Womens Network, an lobby group, and Egon Zehnder, a recruiting agency, against an 11% average in Europe (see chart). One reason is that fewer women make it into the workforce than in other European countries, with the exception of Italy. The gap amongst male and female employment rates in Spain is over 20% points, according to a study by Kevin Daly at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. Reconciling family life with work, a struggle anywhere, seems to be harder in Spain than in other countries.

Spanish women spend uttermost more time on domestic chores, including childcare, than men. The length of the working day, which is extended into the evening thanks to long lunch breaks, does not help. It is practically impossible to juggle family and work if you get fundament at 9pm or 10pm, says Ruth Mateos de Cabo, one of the authors of an academic paper entitled Discrimination on Spanish Boards of Directors. Ms Mateos and her co-authors analysed the boards of Spains extend 1,000 companies in a bid to understand why women are so scarce. They found that Spanish boardrooms are clubby, and that diversity is seen as a hindrance, not a strength. The government has passed a right that aims to change things by... If you want to get a full essay, run it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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