The Gender Gap Advisory Council of the Ministry of Inclusion addresses the situation of Roma women [editar]

Last Monday, the Minister of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz chaired the third meeting of the Gender Gap Advisory Council, which was also attended by the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo. The Council, composed of personalities from the academic, professional and political world, has the function of advising in the decision making of public policies to alleviate the gender gap.

The meeting analyzed the situation of Roma women in the Spanish and European context and their access to social protection with an approach aimed at breaking down structural barriers. Sara Giménez, director of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and member of the Council, presented the challenges faced by Roma women today, she explained the difficulties in terms of access to the labor market, with 60% of women unemployed; the situations of poverty or substandard housing; or the difficulties in accessing protection systems and emphasized the educational challenges, with illiteracy affecting 13% of Roma women and with a school failure rate of 63%. Data that hinder progress and prevent a dignified life.

For her part, the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, stated that "the gender gap does not impact all women in the same way. When gender intersects with ethnicity, poverty or social exclusion, discrimination is multiplied". She expressed her commitment to ensure that public policies, “particularly those of social protection, recognize and address this reality at its root”. And he proposed measures to reinforce the Minimum Vital Income, administrative simplification, more accessible information and social accompaniment, in addition to linking it to educational and labor itineraries.

Exposición de ilustraciones de los 600 Años del Pueblo Gitano

Prior to the meeting, the experts of the Advisory Council attended, in the hall of the Ministry, a guided tour of the exhibition of illustrations on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Roma to Spain. Two employees of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, Adelina Fernández and Maribel Bermúdez, reviewed the most relevant historical events since the arrival of the first Roma families on the peninsula: the departure from India, the historical persecution with events such as the Great Raid, the anti-Roma pragmatics, the arrival of democracy and the presence of Roma references in the institutions.

They explained, in a poetic way and with great feeling, some of the main identity values, the pride of being Roma and exposed the great contributions of the Roma culture to the common heritage. They closed their presentation with a vindication of the Roma woman, her power of leadership and her role in continuous transformation.

The Secretary General for Inclusion, Elena Rodríguez, closed the visit with some affectionate words in recognition of the Roma.