Female and fearless How personal tragedy fuelled one woman’s success story
International
Women’s Day
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To celebrate International Women’s Day, we hear the inspirational stories from over a dozen expats from around the country
MALLORCA
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 4 Issue 101 www.theolivepress.es March 12th - March 25th 2021
Passport to paradise Islands put themselves forward for reopening of borders to UK travellers
TOURISTS who have vaccine passports to prove they have had the COVID jabs could return to our shores as soon as May. The Balearic Islands are hoping to follow the leads of Portugal, Greece and Cyprus and open borders to British holidaymakers who have received the vaccine. It comes as the Spanish government confirmed that plans to welcome visitors with vaccine passports are already underway - and the Balearic Islands is keen to follow suit. International sun seekers could return this Spring, according to Spain's tourism minister Reyes Maroto. The tourism chief said: “We want to
Photo by: Allan Binderup
By Kirsty McKenzie
ICONIC The cathedral in Palma is one of the island´s tourists hot spots
be pioneers and we are the most active champions of digital vaccine passports to facilitate international mobility.” It is unclear when Spain's pilot will be rolled out but regional governors have urged Maroto to let them start the scheme. Tourism minister Iago Negueruela is pushing for the islands to be the first part of Spain to welcome British holidaymakers with vaccine passports. He said: “We have offered to become one of the first parts of Spain where the vaccine passport is trialed. “We showed with last year’s pilot that we can work effectively and the Spanish government’s response to our proposal was
very positive. “We will focus our efforts from now on in becoming a lead region in the implementation of immunity certificates to facilitate mobility.” Maria Duran, a spokeswoman for hotels in Mallorca said: "We're paying very close attention to the UK, the first country to design and share a roadmap for restoring mobility."
...and introducing our new Digital Editor, Fiona Govan, in Madrid
Travel
Vaccine passports, which show the COVID track record of the traveller, have been supported by countries in Europe including Spain and Greece to enable travel to resume without restrictions. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commision, has said that the EU is hoping to publish draft legislation on a digital green pass on March 17. These would prove that the holder has been given both of the jabs and provide medical certificates for those who have recovered from the virus, allowing them to bypass quarantine and negative tests. Brits are currently banned from taking holidays overseas, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reveal the date international travel will restart on April 12. There are hopes the PM will allow UK tourists to head on holidays abroad from as early as May 17, but it's thought that June 21 is a more likely date.
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...with an introduction from our British consul in Andalucia, Charmaine Arbouin
All inside our International Women’s Day special supplement
A special four-page pullout
March 2021
www.theolivepress.es
CAPTION TO GO HERE
I
One in five Spanish women gave up work due to the COVID crisis, while they also poorer and harder are than men, writes Olive working Press Digital Editor Fiona Govan
FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S
LONG WAY TO GO
N previous years March 8 a day when I would meetwas grandparents to toddlers hoisted with a group of friends up on shoulders, came together in a we would hit the streets and sea of purple brandishing signs of Ma- with powerful drid joining tens of thousands slogans to show others to mark International of that modern Spain means equal Wo- opportunities, whatever men’s Day. gender you are. We would don purple items of But the demonstrations clothing and join in the also unprotests derlined how that attracted people much there was from all still to do; women walks of life and across may now be the nerations – both men and ge- fully accepted in the workplace wo- but they are still men, boys and girls. penalised by a There was a carnival atmosphe- gender pay gap, which is not im- men is still recognised as a major proving fast enough. re as people of all ages, problem in Spain and the from Meanwhile violence we are against wo- witnessing the rise of the try’s political far right and counwith it a denial of gender inequalities. This year with Spain still in the grip of the pandemic, are no mass protests withthere thorities banning gatheringsauto avoid potential super-spreader events, but the health crisis has highlighted and even compounded some of the inequalities in society. Working from home has seen a steep rise in mental health with women bearing the issues of the burden of childcarebrunt and housework as they try to balance work life with home-schooling and care for their elderly relatives.
See inside
Pics are on the wall
A SMALL village in ed the skills of twodeep inland Malaga has enlistwhitewashed walls local artists to transform the into a tribute to rural across the ages. women In a project entitled rapher Ana Becerra ‘Saucedeñas’, Ronda photogtaken to Villanueva and artist Selector Marx have Residents awoke lastdel Rosario. week to large scale white collages of images black of local rural women and blazoned on walls of em“The women on the municipal buildings. are entrepreneurs, photographs are women who who cultivated creativity had a history of self-improvement or who ” said Becerra.
When Spain went into lockdown a year ago, gender violence soared with the authorities reporting an 18% rise in calls ring the first fortnight alone. duA survey conducted by DYM in
DAY...
Important day Charmaine Arbouin, British Consul for Andalusia, Canary Islands, Ceuta & Melilla. Based in
women in managerial positions Malaga she covers remains around a third of that of the region of Spain men with the numbers dropping even further as careers progress. that has the largest Spain’s female executives concentration of British 15.1 percent less than their earn residents counterparts, although this male below the EU average is just salary gap of 16 percent according “International Women’s the latest EU data from 2017. to Day is an opportunity the run up to Women’s to Day this This inequality is highlighted celebrate the achieveyear revealed that 7% of in women the statement issued ments of women - both had suffered physical or by psycho- government on March Spain’s past and present; those logical abuse from men 8: “Woduring men in Spain work who have shaped 2020. more than and transformed our world, men today, but And most alarwhether that be politithey are poorer.” mingly of all, accally or in the fields Of course there cording to the laFIVE LINERS science and culture. of are still reasons test data, women it’s also a moment toBut xxxxxxx to be positive remade up 93% of flect on what still needs and to celebrate those who gave xxxxxxxxx to be done and that’s just how far woup employment why this year’s theme xxxxxxxx men have come during 2020 in of Choose to Challenge in Spain. Spain... citing camatters. We must xxxxxxxxx all Spain may not ring for minors, choose to call out bias have had a feand inequality, so that elderly or sick remale prime we have even more great latives as the main reasons. nister but it has the largest mifemale achievers to That is one in five women, share accor- of women in any European ebrate in the future.” celding to a survey by online lecom- gislature with women munity MalasMadres. representing 47 percent of elected During the second quarter MPs, of last a bigger proportion year, a period that coincided of female with lawmakers than even Sweden. Spain’s strict lockdown 61,000 More than half of Pedro women gave up their jobs to chez’s cabinet comprises Sancare for others compared woto just men – each one impressively 6,500 men. qualified for their role – And when it comes to with wothe kplace itself, the proportionwor- men holding key ministerial poof sitions including Foreign Minister and Health Minister. We’ve come a long way the end of the dictatorship since a woman had to have when her father’s or husband’s permission to travel and couldn’t open a bank account. But there’s no room for complacency, we still have a long long way to go.
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