Gender equality has become an increasingly consolidated dimension of cultural policy in Spain, driven by both international developments in the cultural and creative sectors and domestic institutional reforms. Over time, policy approaches have evolved from isolated initiatives towards a more structured framework based on gender mainstreaming across cultural governance.
This evolution is anchored in Organic Law 3/2007 on effective equality between women and men, which introduced gender mainstreaming as a core administrative principle and established Equality Units across ministries. Within the cultural field, this has led to the creation of specialised governance and monitoring structures, including the Gender Equality Committee on Cultural Affairs, the Observatory for Gender Equality in the Cultural Sector, and digital tools such as the Ministry of Culture’s Equality Space (launched in 2017), which provides resources for consultation, visibility and awareness-raising.
A major step forward has been the adoption of the Plan for Equality in Culture (2024–2026), representing a milestone in cultural governance. The Plan aims to ensure gender equality across the cultural sector and to mainstream gender perspectives within the Ministry of Culture and its affiliated bodies. It is embedded within the broader Cultural Rights Plan, reflecting a shift towards a rights-based approach in which equality is considered a fundamental condition for access to and participation in culture.
The Plan is based on a dual strategy combining gender mainstreaming and targeted measures. On the one hand, it integrates gender perspectives across all areas of cultural policy, including funding systems, institutional practices, communication strategies and evaluation frameworks. On the other hand, it maintains specific actions addressing structural inequalities affecting women in the cultural sector. This combined approach reflects the understanding that systemic transformation and corrective interventions are mutually reinforcing[1].
Policy implementation reflects this dual logic. Gender criteria have been progressively incorporated into public funding and procurement procedures, while audiovisual support schemes—particularly through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA)—include incentives for projects led by women and recognition mechanisms for works promoting gender equality. These measures are complemented by cultural programming initiatives, such as exhibitions dedicated to women artists in state museums and festivals like Ellas Crean [They Create], as well as capacity-building and training programmes for cultural professionals.
Despite these advances, structural inequalities persist. In 2024, women accounted for 40.6% of employment in the cultural sector, compared to 59.4% for men, with significant variation across subsectors. Women are comparatively more represented in libraries, archives, museums and publishing, but remain underrepresented in the music industry and in senior creative and decision-making positions. This pattern reflects ongoing vertical segregation, where high participation in education and entry-level roles does not translate into proportional representation in leadership and authorship.
The current Cultural Rights Plan 2025–2030 further consolidates gender equality as a cross-cutting objective. It strengthens gender-sensitive funding criteria, promotes the collection of sex-disaggregated and intersectional data, reinforces training in gender equality for cultural staff, and introduces measures addressing gender-based violence in cultural and audiovisual environments. These actions extend policy beyond representation, incorporating workplace conditions and structural protection as key dimensions.
At the same time, implementation remains uneven within Spain’s multi-level governance system, reflecting different policy priorities across Autonomous Communities. In addition, digital environments have introduced new challenges, including online harassment and hate speech, which disproportionately affect women in public cultural and creative roles and are increasingly recognised as emerging areas for policy intervention.
[1] Look here for more details: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000395703
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