Introduction
Wednesday, 23 September 2009 12:36
The Centre Dolors Piera d’Igualtat d’Oportunitats i Promoció de les Dones was created thanks to SIED (Seminari Interdisciplinari d’Estudis de la Dona) that focuses on promoting and encouraging equal opportunities between men and women. The regulations and rules of the Centre were approved on March 7, 2006, by the Consell de Govern of the University of Lleida (to consult the document, please visit: http://www.udl.cat/export/sites/UdL/udl/norma/serveis_univ/xReglament_Centre_Igualtat_Oportu_i_prom_donesx.pdf
With the creation of the Centre Dolors Piera d’Igualtat d’Oportunitats i Promoció de les Dones the University of Lleida compromised itself to work toward the promotion of gender equality at university and nationwide.
1. spread of information
2. training and research
3. collaboration in promoting gender equality
4. advice
5. international cooperation.
Throughout most of history, women generally have been attached to the private sphere. Having been refused the same legal rights and career opportunities as men, they have never had an opportunity to be the agents of their own lives. Only housewifery and motherhood were regarded as women's duties and professions. Even though with the emergence of the modern societies in the 20th century women started to gain more political rights and educational opportunities, the deeply grounded roots of the patriarchal system have not been erased. The world is still interpreted and perceived though gendered lenses where sexism remains entrenched in almost every sector in our societies. In many different fields and areas women continue to be seen as invisible and inferior individuals who lack the capacity to change the viewpoints of a gendered society where prejudices and sexist stereotypes still construct the barriers for women who seek equality and recognition in political, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic matters. Even though contemporary democratic societies insist and assure that both men and women must have the same legal rights, women still encounter boundaries and sociocultural limits that preclude them from being an integral part of society. This phenomenon is known as the sostre de vidre. Because of occupational segregation, women not only face wage gaps, but they are also denied the access to workplaces defined as being designed only for men. The value of women’s contributions to political, cultural, and economic developments and decision-making processes have always been underestimated and, in many cases, concealed with premeditation.
Gender-based violence and discrimination is another trend that reinforces inequality between the sexes and encompasses a wide range of sexual violations that includes domestic violence against women, sexual assault, rape, etc. Conscious of a phenomenon that is much more frequent in non-democratic states, the United Nations organized four worldwide conferences on women with an aim to promote action for equality, development, and peace. For more information about the conferences and their subsequent reviews as well as official documents, please visit: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/.
The European Union is also a great promoter of gender equality and adopts politics to accelerate the empowerment of women. The UE is linked by close bonds to financial tools, the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, that were created to reduce regional inequalities regarding not only the levels of income and wealth, but also taking into consideration equal opportunities between men and women. The codes and regulations established by FEDER (CE nº 1783/1999) and FEOGA (CE nº 1257/1999) also highlight the importance of the promotion of gender equality. The same strategies have been adopted by other four EU-funded programmes INTERREG III, EQUAL, URBAN II, and LEADER PLUS that, apart from ensuring the development of new strategies to existing political and socioeconomic challenges, encourage the equal rights and opportunities of male and female citizens.
Though the Structural Funds have been promoting equality between men and women, there is still a long way to go regarding not only the EU, but also Spanish politics. The Spanish Government and the Congress of Deputies advanced the first article of the Spanish Constitution that points out domestic violence and sexual assault against women. Ley Orgánica 1/2004, de 28 de diciembre, de Medidas de Protección Integral contra la Violencia de Género exposes prevention from sexism and indicates the specific centres, including universities, that promote the non-discrimination politics and equal opportunities between the sexes.
A university has always been a place that aimed at transforming society by endorsing critical thinking, tolerance, respect, and promotion of human rights. For more than twenty years, various research groups have been examining the situation of women and their rights in Spain. Thanks to their research work, the history of women became more visible to the public. However, these significant investigations carried out by individual researches or small entities cannot guarantee the promotion and application of the equal rights between men and women. Therefore, it is important that the Government and other public institutions create more active services to unmask the inequalities and imbalance in our contemporary society with an aim to offer expert advice and more effective solutions to the existing gender-based problems.
