La Junta atiende consultas sobre discriminación laboral a mujeres
The Department of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, through the Andalusian Women’s Institute (IAM), has provided almost 1,800 consultations through the legal advice and procedural defense service for women in cases of gender-based discrimination in the workplace. This resource, accessed through provincial and municipal women’s centers and the Andalusian women’s helpline 900 200 999, includes information, legal advice, and procedural intervention free of charge.
This program is carried out through grants, in a non-competitive process, directed to trade union organizations for the operation of a legal defense service that assists Andalusian women facing any kind of gender-based discrimination in the workplace or any contentious area, including administrative. It provides information on women’s rights, advice, support, and intervention in defense, including legal procedures. The call for proposals for the year 2025 was published in April with a budget of €300,000.
The Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, Loles López, has stated that «one of the priorities of the Andalusian government is to promote equal opportunities between women and men.» In this regard, she has acknowledged that «women continue to face discriminatory practices, such as the gender pay gap, discrimination related to maternity and work-life balance, as well as sexual harassment, among others, which undermine their rights and the pursuit of real equality.»
In response to this situation, López has emphasized «the importance of providing women with the necessary services and resources to address discriminatory situations, in this case, in the workplace that hinder their full development and the maximum utilization of the talent of Andalusian women.»
In the last call for proposals, this service of the Andalusian Women’s Institute, implemented through grants awarded to CCOO, UGT, and USO, addressed a total of 1,772 consultations in Andalusia. Most of the consultations were related to conciliation rights and paid leave, such as flexible working hours, reduced hours, extended leaves for caregiving, breastfeeding leave, among others. Other common issues included dismissal before or after childbirth, followed by consultations on sexual and moral harassment, non-compliance with the rights of women victims of gender-based violence, and salary discrimination, among others. These consultations led to the opening of 423 cases, of which 60% were taken to court.
This legal advice and procedural defense service for women covers discrimination in access to employment, whether in selection processes or hiring, in maintaining employment due to gender, salary discrimination based on differences in pay in categories, professional classifications, bonuses, etc. It also addresses discrimination in promotion and advancement with subjective criteria related to maternity, work-life balance, family, and personal life (dismissal, changes in substantial work conditions, violation of fundamental rights, reduced hours, leaves of absence, breastfeeding, etc).
It also addresses cases of sexual harassment, moral harassment based on gender, labor rights of victims of gender-based violence and women in feminized and precarious sectors, as well as violations of any other rights of women that result in gender-based discrimination in the workplace.
