The Department of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, through the Andalusian Women’s Institute (IAM), activated the legal advice and procedural defense service for women facing gender-based discrimination in the workplace or sexual harassment in June. This program is funded with 300,000 euros after the publication of the grant resolution. The beneficiary trade unions are CCOO-Andalucía, UGT-Andalucía, and the Union Sindical Obrera de Andalucía.
The main goal of this program is to provide information, advice, support, and legal defense, including procedural representation, for women’s rights. It runs for 12 months and can be accessed through the women’s information hotline (900 200 999), the Provincial Women’s Centers in each Andalusian capital, and the Municipal Women’s Information Centers (CMIM), of which there are 180 in Andalusia.
Loles López, the Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, emphasized that this service «helps address the various discriminations that women still face and promotes equal opportunities.» She highlighted that «this free resource assists Andalusian women with issues related to maternity, work-life balance, pay disparities, or cases of sexual harassment.» Additionally, she pointed out that «one of the main goals of the Andalusian government is to address the inequalities and barriers that women still encounter, especially in the workplace.»
López also mentioned that «the Andalusian Women’s Institute offers a range of resources and specialized programs aimed at businesses for implementing equality plans, protocols against sexual harassment, measures for work-life balance, and services for women to progress towards real equality.»
In the previous call for applications, this service handled a total of 1,772 consultations in Andalusia. Most of them were related to reconciliation rights and paid leave, such as schedule adjustments, reduced hours, caregiving leaves, and breastfeeding breaks, among others. Other common issues included dismissal before or after childbirth, queries about sexual and moral harassment, violations of the rights of women victims of gender-based violence, and wage discrimination. These consultations led to the opening of 423 cases, of which 60% were taken to court.
The Andalusian Women’s Institute’s program addresses discrimination in employment access, whether in selection processes or hiring, maintaining a job based on gender, wage discrimination in categories, professional classifications, and bonuses, among others. It also tackles discrimination in promotions and subjective criteria, related to maternity issues, work-life balance, family and personal life reconciliation (dismissal, changes to substantial work conditions, violation of fundamental rights, reduced hours, leaves, or breastfeeding).
Furthermore, it intervenes in cases of sexual harassment, moral harassment based on gender, labor rights of victims of gender-based violence, women in feminized and precarious sectors, and the violation of any other women’s rights leading to gender-based discrimination in the workplace.