Interesting that two of the European states that were most under the patriarchal thumb of the Catholic Church — Ireland and Spain — have not just broken out, but broken out with a vengeance, seeking to address centuries of unusually repressive treatment of women, gays and other “deviants” with progressive human rights legislation. The latest in Spain is preferential treatment for companies with women on their boards:
It is the latest in a string of measures, including a housework-sharing clause in civil marriage contracts, targeting machismo. Companies have eight years to reach a 40% quota of women on their boards, a leap from today’s 3.8% average in public companies.
Those who fail to reach the quota will lose competitive status in bids for state contracts.
Wimbledon, however, remains in its English public school past, with prizemoney for women still below that of men’s. But good on Venus Williams, who today in The Times takes on the issue:
Equality is too important a principle to give up on for the sake of less than 2 per cent of the profit that the All England Club will make at this year’s tournament. Profit that men and women will contribute to equally through sold-out sessions, TV ratings or attraction to sponsors.
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