Aurora Díaz Obregón is a student of journalism. She is currently interning at Pikara Magazine, a digital magazine with a gender perspective. Founded in 2010, Pikara is recognized as a reference for feminist communication in Spain and Latin America.
The European Dialogues project hosted the conference Gender Equality and the European Union in the San Telmo Museum in the three voices of Marina Calloni, Kristin Tran and Alexandra Byröd. Izaskun Landaiada, the Director of Emakunde-Basque Institute of Women, was responsible for moderating the event.
Marina Calloni is the Director of the International Network for Empowerment and Gender Research and a Professor of Social and Political Philosophy at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan. Calloni reflected on the Europe of the 28, which conjures the slogan “Unity in diversity”, while raising the question, what does unity in diversity mean when gender inequality is a cause of discrimination? The major unresolved issue in a European Union based on economical unity rather than political or cultural. The truth is that the current democracy, in old Europe, has not achieved parity between men and women. Women in Europe survive in a discrepancy between a formal representation of equality and their daily lives, in which they are still relegated to the background. While it is true that the European Union seems yet to achieve equality between men and women, the attempts are undeniable. The first measures, focusing on women workers, were applied between 1975 and 1976. In the 1980s, these measures began to work began with the promotion of self-employment. In the 1990s affirmative action measures were adopted.
While no one has found the magic formula, it is a question of cultural change, not only institutional change.
Kristin Tran, advisor to the Swedish political party Feminist Initiative in the European Parliament, expressed her enthusiasm to meet Plaz!, the feminist initiative in running for the local government in Donostia-San Sebastian. The Swedish Initiative, which began with very meager resources, advocates for equal economic, political, cultural and social rights. What do they call for? Strengthen the protection against discrimination in all areas, not only occupational; an open Europe, with welcoming and protective immigration policies to stop the massacre in the Mediterranean; accessible childcare to women so that they do not have to choose between family and work; the establishment of minimum standards and measures in in favor of equality across all Member States; and mobilize and promote feminist proposals in each country. The objective? Create more equal, healthier societies. The Feminist Initiative is the first feminist party to occupy a seat in the European Parliament. Her proposal, as usual, has been criticized for being “too theoretical” and for being a “monotonous” political party. Beyond the criticism, they have included feminism and internationalism in debates.
This ideal society is still a utopia, Alexandra Byröd Swedish politician and Human Rights activist in Stockholm, dismantles the myth that revolves around Sweden. “The pay gap, everyday sexism, sexual and gender violence are still present,” she says.
The event forms part of the European Dialogues: a program geared to analyze the most immediate challenges facing the construction of the European Union project and present the opportunity to make Donostia-San Sebastian a reference for innovative thinking, European debate and citizen participation.
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