Valencia’s Employment and Education Service Labora announced today its first plan to embed gender mainstreaming within active employment policies. The initiative stems from a collaboration between the University of Castellón Jaume I and the Isonomia Foundation.
The Castellón de la Plana presentation was led by Santiago García, a professor at UJI and general secretary of the Isonomia Foundation. The plan aims to close the gender gap that still affects women in the Community, a goal explained by the regional Minister of Employment, Enric Nomdedéu, and by Alejandra Fantacci, a key advisor in its rollout.
In this frame, Nomdedéu announced the Generalitat will launch the Avalem Dones plan. This program offers subsidies and support for guidance, training, and employment promotion, with the objective of boosting Valencian women’s employability.
The project, unveiled on Tuesday, began with a diagnostic phase. Nomdedéu notes that while women in the Valencian Community are employed, their participation reveals entrenched gender stereotypes that create barriers and discrimination in social relations.
Specifically, the data show a gender gap in labor force activity, employment, and unemployment. Women are less likely to participate in the labor market, often holding positions in services and fields such as public administration, education, health, or paid domestic work, with limited advancement into leadership roles.
Unemployment disproportionately affects women, a pattern repeatedly confirmed in statistical series on this topic. A report from the Isonomia Foundation for Labora shows that the female employment rate trails the male rate by 11.1 percentage points.
Within the age spectrum, female unemployment is highest among those aged 25 to 34. It is noted that maternity or family responsibilities continue to be a central reason behind this continuing employment gap.
Furthermore, although women seeking work hold higher education levels than men (higher rates of university attendance), it remains harder for unemployed women to secure jobs. More than half experience long-term unemployment (63.7 percent for women versus 54.7 percent for men). Additionally, 7.2 points more women than men report receiving no unemployment assistance.
Against this backdrop, Labora outlines goals to implement gender-focused policies across all work areas and to actively close the gap within the organization.
Among the outlined objectives is a goal to raise women’s labor force participation by narrowing the activity gap through measures such as increasing the number of women served by Labora, engaging those who left the labor market, and boosting the share of women receiving job guidance by 5 percent.
The plan calls for a comprehensive Avalem Dones program to reduce gender-based employment discrimination and to consolidate existing initiatives with new measures aimed at women.
Consequently, the regional Employment Secretary emphasizes that effective crossovers will require policies to address gender inequalities in the labor market, including the wage gap, occupational discrimination, job discrimination, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence in the workplace.
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As explained, gender mainstreaming should guide Labora’s strategic planning and daily operations. The approach also emphasizes recognizing the diversity among women and tailoring measures to the needs of different groups, such as migrant women, women with disabilities, young women, and those in rural areas.
Eva Alcón, rector of Jaume I University, described the plan as another milestone in the Isonomia Foundation’s success story and a significant advance demanded by Jaume I University. He noted that translating university research into societal and economic benefits strengthens public policy innovation.
Alcón further highlighted the initiative’s leadership in spreading knowledge on equality, noting the involvement of research groups and institutes focused on feminist studies and related areas.
The Gender Mainstreaming Implementation Plan in Active Employment Policies is carried out within the framework of Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan actions funded by the European Union.