Equality Between Women and Men: Law 3/2007

The Principle of Equality Between Women and Men

• This principle along with protection against discrimination, is safeguarded by legal frameworks.
• The frameworks promote gender equality, protect against gender violence, LGTBIfobia, and discrimination based on sexual orientation/identity, especially in Madrid.

Organic Law 3/2007

• The law aims to promote female employment stability through training and job opportunities.
• Reconciling work and personal life is a key focus for both men and women.
• Measures include flexible work schedules, vacation outside maternity leave, reduced working hours for childcare (minors under eight or disabled individuals), and leave for family care.
• Companies with over 250 employees are mandated to negotiate equality plans for inclusion in agreements.
• Social Security measures acknowledge paternity and lactation risk benefits.
• The period to have contributed 180 days to be eligible for maternity benefits is extended to seven years.
• The first two years of leave for childcare and the first year of leave for family care are counted as effective contribution periods.
• Public policies must protect maternity, reconcile work/personal life, eradicate violence against women, promote equality, improve women's health and training access, and provide housing for vulnerable women (social exclusion, gender violence victims, single-parent families).

Concepts of Equality: Equal Treatment

• A social and democratic State addresses gender inequalities via public policies in education, employment, language, and communication, prioritizing equal opportunities for men and women.
• Equality policies address the gap between legal equality and real equality in social practices.
• Formal equality entails legal recognition of equality, including non-discrimination based on sex.
• Real equality means effective equality.

Factors Impeding Real Equality

• Absence of discrimination based on direct/indirect sex.
• It also acts as guiding principle is in the interpretation/application of legal standards.
• Direct discrimination includes less favorable treatment based on sex compared to others in comparable situations, and unfavorable treatment related to pregnancy/maternity.
• Indirect discrimination occurs when neutral provisions disadvantage one sex over another.
• Adverse treatment resulting from complaints/claims to prevent discrimination and enforce equal treatment is also discrimination.

Harassment

• Sexual harassment involves verbal/physical conduct of sexual nature that violates a person's dignity, creating an intimidating/offensive environment
• Harassment based on sex involves conduct related to a person's sex, violating dignity, and creating and intimidating/offensive environment

Legal Repercussions for discriminatory behaviors

• Actions/agreements causing sex-based discrimination are null, leading to liability through effective/proportionate compensations or dissuasive sanctions.

Affirmative Actions

• These are specific measures favoring women by Public Authorities to enforce constitutional equality rights and correct clear inequalities against men.
• They apply as long as inequality persists and must be reasonable/proportionate to the goal.

Additional Measures

• Private individuals/entities can adopt similar measures as defined by the law.
• Balanced representation means no gender exceeds 60% or falls below 40% in any group.

Equality Units

• These are directive bodies in each ministry to handle matters related to equality principles.
• Equality plans in firms are agreed-upon measures based on a situational diagnosis to achieve equal treatment and opportunities and eliminate sex-based discrimination.

Law Title V: Equality in public employment

• It outlines the principle of equality in public employment.

Chapter I

• Focuses on action criteria for Public Administrations.
• Public Administrations should remove obstacles hindering equal opportunity to ensure equal conditions for men and women's access/career advancement in public employment.
• It is important to facilitate work/life balance without affecting professional advancement and promote equality training for public job access/career progression.
• It also encourages balanced gender representation in selection/evaluation bodies and establish measures against sexual harassment.
• They should also implement measures to eliminate pay discrimination and assess the effectiveness of equality in their operations.

Chapter II

• It emphasizes balanced ratios in the State's General Administration and affiliated agencies.
• The Government ensures balanced gender representation when appointing officials in the State's General Administration and affiliated bodies.
• The selection boards/bodies must adhere balanced gender representation unless justified otherwise.
• The State's General Administration's representatives in merit assessment boards must conform to balanced gender representation for job positions.
• Appointees to expert committees must also reflect balanced gender representation unless there are valid reasons otherwise.
• The State's General Administration must maintain balanced gender representation in director boards.
• An impact report is required in selective tests for public job entry, to exclude discrimination, unless its urgent
• Improvements from agreements between the State's General Administration's staff and public workers representatives may arise, but rules concerning work schedule reductions, maternity leave, or other benefits to protect maternity and balancing personal and professional life will still apply. Likewise paternity leave will be granted under current regulations.

Chapter III

• It outlines equality measures in jobs for the state's administration.
• Time spent in situations from above, like maternity leave, should be considered when assessing merits in job opportunity disputes.
• A risk-related license will be granted due to pregnancy that might negatively affect the woman/child's health, whilst financial rights are still present for the official in congruence to enacted legislation.
• Similar application will be applied during lactation.
• If the vacation period overlaps with temporary disability from pregnancy/natural childbirth or maternity leave, an employee can take a vacation later in the year.
• The right extends to those on paternity leave. Public employees get priority for training slots for one year due to returning from maternity/paternity leave, or re-entering after time off to care for the elderly/dependents.
• At least 40% positions are reserved for public employees in training courses to facilitate their professional promotion, and access into directive positions in the general government

Training for Equality

• Studies regarding gender balance will be enforced as part of recruitment for those entering the state's general body and its affiliated organizations.
• The State's General Administration will provide courses on equal rights for men/women along with violence prevention to all personnel.
• A protocol regarding sexual harassment will be used

Preventing Sexual Harassment and Harassment Based on Sex

• Public Administration should negotiate procedures with legal workers representatives, following principles, such as preventing sex-based harassment, educating staff on respecting personal dignity, ensuring private treatment for potential accusations, and identifying individuals responsible for addressing concerns.
• Departments should deliver yearly numbers to the Ministries of Labor/Social Affairs along with Public Administrations with relative material in each field regarding positions held, skill groups/average income numbers.

Equality Plan

• Each government will initiate the plan for Equality between men/women in the State's General Governance.
• The plan will establish objectives for promoting fair treatment/opportunities in public work, along with strategies for reaching it.
• This will be annually assessed.
• An inter-ministerial commission for equality between Women and Men will he created along with equality units within each Ministry, as well as, a Board on Women's Participation designed to act as a cause for institutional involvement.
• Additionally, non-sexist languages will be used amongst public spheres along with accounting for the use of women involved in statistics, as well as, designing a strategic plan of equivalent opportunity across employment fields.
• Equality plans within businesses will be adjusted and bargained over depending on the specific scenario being dealt with during each situation.
• A unique business recognition for equality will be created along with measures to prevent sex-based harassment in work, and establishing a means of action when such situations occur.
• Rights to stabilize, incorporate life events and careers; as well as, advocate for joint responsibility among career couples/partners.
• Guarantee rights to parental leaves, and the benefits and compensation it comes with; as stated in labor laws.
• Build an additional 42 days for maternity paid leave, as the amount of time required, for workers who were unable to accumulate contribution payments.
• The legal idea of shared entitlement will be pushed, to recognize women involved in the farming/agriculture businesses to get Social Security protections along and job/labor recognition from related Ministries.
• Financial protection/compensation will also be increased when related to risky on-the-job maternity.
• Safeguards and compensation will be provided during at-risk breastfeeding periods.
• A prohibition of discrimination will be enforced in providing resources/services.
• An individual may not pry into a women's potential pregnancy when making deals unless certain criteria are there to ensure safety.
• It will be illegal to formulate any service contracts (insurance) where gender becomes a factor when accumulating payment dues, and assistance is granted.

Law 3/2016

• Law 3/2016 safeguards the rights and the avoidance of prejudice based on one's preferences, including equal effectiveness for members of the LGTBI within Madrid.

Article 1

• Under its authority, aims to create standards, activities in protection of one's right to freedom of orientation or in all fields whether physical or mental within public/private domains.
• All LGTBI personnel must obtain equal consideration especially within working, educative and health domains, along with protections against discrimination/hate crimes relating to their orientation.

Article 3: Definitions

• LGTBI is an acronym for: Lesbians, Gays, Transgender, Bisexual/Intersex people.
• Transgender individual are people who are able to identify with varying ideas, and express themselves as an assigned identity.
• LGTBIfobia describes fear and prejudice that women or members of the LGTBI experience.
• Discrimination relates to those that are discriminated given their preference in comparison to related scenarios.
• Indirect discrimination is when one is discriminated given their orientation.
• Multiple discriminations occurs when one is identified as being from an assortment of backgrounds adding to their orientation.
• Discrimination via being involved with other individuals/groups in the LGTBI community.
• Discriminatory abuse comes from a behavior, and is intended to harm from abuse by creating demeaning environments.
• Retaliation will not approved if resulting from a prior scenario resulting in a demand for discrimination against LGTBI workers.
• Secondary victimization will result when one becomes a victim of abuse, and causes the inability for people to act or support them within law enforcement.
• Intragender aggression happens among intimate relationships that involves power dynamics and a dominate figure using abuse.
• Gender variation depends on the imposed social and gender assigned expectations.
• Affirmative action is related to helping demographics who have undergone long-term discrimination, and allow access to social and economic support.

Gender Orientation Therapy

• Gender Orientation Therapy are medical treatments to get rid of one's orientation.
• Intersex occurs when one's reproductive systems are undefined in description.
• Every person with a varying of differing orientations will not be discriminated.
• Each person will be given opportunity to engage with what they enjoy in a safe setting without being changed.
• Those who may suffer from this abuse receives help from trained staff along with police and assistants trained towards handling such behaviors.
• Furthermore, LGTBI personnel should also gain access to healthcare/support depending on situations they are dealing with.

Institutional Safeguards

• Conduct activities that improve understanding and visibility in everyday life.
• The law will treat everyone the same whether in public/private life, without having to reveal orientation or identity.
• No one will also be forced on treatments without consent.
• Every council must enforce help to every LGTBI individual and is legally bound to provide support through Community of Madrid.
• If such a criteria isn’t met send a message of what has happened to the Community of Madrid.
• When action is taken under the police or justice departments, a number must have proper equality treatment.
• Those with less acknowledgment and support will get projects aimed at them to provide a voice for all.
• Minors must be protected as well with measures in family settings with support for members in similar circumstances.

Educational Assistance

• New regulations will give non-bias rights for students.
• Support to those being abused and staff will get education through trainings on being aware of the community, as well as, support staff that creates safe spaces for members.
• The healthcare administration provides those to seek medical attention when needed.
• Regulations will be altered and rephrased to have correct language along with help offered when needed.
• Studies/statistics along with campaigns will be offered to stop double prejudices in LGTBI communities.

Workplace Protections

• You cannot not be discriminated.
• Everyone is offered with help with access to jobs and social movements aimed at the LGTBI cause to prevent mistreatment.
• This protection will also have access to resources for those in need, and plans for businesses and workers in the workplace.
• Help will be offered to those that are facing issues and those seeking it.
• This entails ensuring those with struggles in life have a voice, and have assistance offered to them.
• Those that are suffering from discrimination gets access to proper authorities.
• Whether in the public/private sector plans are created to fight this behavior.

Administrative Oversight

• Each situation calls for those involved who did the behavior to get a warning, depending on actions taken.
• Furthermore, assistance is given to those that suffer discrimination along with staff who are educated on identifying such behavior.
• Whether on the internet insults get a fine.
• Those failing inspection can be penalized.
• With all factors being shown it will then depend on each account shown by those involved.

Infractions and Sanctions

• Certain misdeeds will be penalized such insults or incitations to violence repeatedly on social services or other platforms warrant a fine from 3,001 to 20,000 Euros with the potential of not getting aid depending on one’s actions.