Gender equality remains a major task for the business world, and it is a topic no one questions in principle. Still, clear signs point to steady progress, with family-owned companies in Alicante beginning to act on the issue.
Currently, women hold 33.5% of senior management positions in the province. That figure is higher than the national average among family firms, which sits at 28%. Yet it lags behind the broader industry, where top executives remain predominantly male. At the end of last year, women occupied about 22% of top leadership roles in the sector, a share that still underperforms compared with other segments.
This picture comes from the study Family Business in Spain, conducted by the IEF and regional networks that gather such enterprises. Alicante-specific data were released at the Aefa meeting on Thursday. The report maps the strengths and weaknesses of family businesses and highlights ongoing challenges in generational change.
Gustavo Lubián and Esteban Sastre were featured in dialogue at the Aefa meeting.
In terms of governance, a survey of IEF employees and regional affiliates shows that only 38% of shareholders in family businesses are women, with Alicante showing 35.8% in that category. Similarly, only 30% of board members are women, and Alicante stands at 30.8% for this metric. These shares remain below the levels observed in major listed companies, which approach 40% in line with European directives.
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What sets some firms apart is the inclusion of women in management roles. In Alicante, women account for 33.5% of management while the national average sits at 28%. The AEFA secretary and director of the GNA Juan Perán Ramos Chair underscores that ownership is often passed down through generations, but having more women in leadership signals a real commitment to progress. Gustavo Lubián commented on the trend during the presentation, noting that property is inherited, but greater female leadership demonstrates forward momentum.
Maite Antón, president of AEFA, was pictured with other notable members of the organization during the event.
On a national level, the data show a clear pattern: larger companies tend to have fewer women in leadership. The Director of Economics and Business Administration at the Family Business Institute, who holds leadership roles, raised this concern alongside Esteban Sastre.
Subrogation
The study also points to governance gaps that still need attention. In Alicante, 53.9% of the surveyed firms have a formal subrogation approach to generation change and a corresponding protocol to regulate relations between the family and the company. Moreover, only half of the firms maintain a family council to guide joint decisions about the business’s future.
Commitment to the region
IEF research highlights that up to 94% of family entrepreneurs believe it is important to ground their business in the region where they live, and around 92.8% consider regional employment and local care responsibilities as very or extremely important. A similar share supports measures that help reconcile family and work life for employees. Finally, 89.7% of business owners intend to pass the company on to future generations.