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The Royal Academy of Language describes “lobby” as “a group of people who, for the benefit of their own interests, influence an organization, sphere or social activity.”

Although within this broad definition many of the associations that have most influenced by the changes against discrimination against women, Some of them reject the term due to the bad reputation that the concept has traditionally had in Spain.

Whatever they are called, these groups have been key to achieving legislative changes or introducing concepts on the public agenda such as consent, conciliation, quotas or sexual assault that have managed to break some of the glass ceilings for women. These are some of the most important ones.

Clara Campoamor Association

This association was founded in Euskadi in 1985 by a group of women from the feminist movement, given the prevailing need to ““Defend women’s rights by combining social actions with legal intervention and political advocacy.”.

Its main objective has been provide legal advice to women who suffered any type of gender violence and accompany them in the process, as well as publicly denounce the continuous violations to which they were being subjected. In fact, they have acted as private prosecutors in some of the trials that have most marked the perception of gender violence in Spain.

The Clara Campoamor Association does not want to be considered a lobby since “they are not a business” and they insist that feminism has to be “a social transformation”: “It means questioning patriarchal privileges, changing the way of being, what it means to be a man and a woman traditionally, and most importantly the ability of those who enjoy them to renounce those privileges”.

They recognize that the difficulty is that people do not want to lose rights in favor of others and that there are many comfortable in that hierarchical situation. Therefore, in the fourth feminist wave, after March 8, 2018, we must be very clear “that feminism must be a global alliance”.

Any solution, as explained in the association, has to go through education and lawsespecially for the challenges that remain: “improving protection for victims of gender violence, against sexual violence, laws and institutions with a gender perspective, implementation of all the measures of the State Pact on Violence Gender; education in equality, interculturality, diversity, commodification of women’s bodies and co-responsibility”.

bad mothers

This lobby feminist emerged nine years ago as the blog of its president, Laura Baena, who when she became pregnant realized that “The reality of motherhood was very different from what we had been told.“.

“We had supermythologized motherhood, pregnancy, and when you really live it You start to feel cheated, thinking why they have made it so sweet for me.. I was a creative in an advertising company and when I said I was pregnant they told me that that was not a company for moms and babies and I come face to face with reality,” Baena begins to explain how this social movement emerged.

“I tried to reconcile two years, living badly and losing control of my personal life and I ended up giving up my professional career as a publicist because it was impossible. She had not been a mother either to not see the girl and there was no way to reconcile,” she adds, introducing two key words in the wave. badmothers: resignation and conciliation.

In fact, the club was born from the resignation of its president from her professional life, “because she wanted to break the myth of superwoman“, and encountered “a generation of women who felt deceived and who realized that The social model of motherhood that we have been carrying is obsolete“.

With events full of humor and irony, a design typical of a great advertising creative (who lost her company), bad mothers he has finished being present in all debates on conciliation that, they insist, must include men: “We do not fight for the conciliation of mothers, that would not be intelligent, we fight so that we all reconcile; so that the mother is not marked with the ‘M’ for mother and we are made the weakest rival within a company.”

Baena does not shy away from the label lobbyIn fact, it was his dream when he started with the club: “We are because we do political advocacy and social activism.. “We are going to put pressure on companies, government and society to make a change.”

Among the necessary measures: an agreement for conciliation, an adaptation of real working hours, quotas as a lever of change, that #yonorenuncio is a reality for everyone and more support for SMEs and small businesses so that the flexibility changes can occur. “We have entered the world of work but the man has not entered the home in the same wayto take responsibility like us.”

The 25 Club

The Club emerged more than 25 years ago, “we have just fulfilled them,” he explains Cristina Almeida, its president; among journalists who covered information on Congress and politics. It started as a group of women who met up for dinner or lunch with someone of interest. to chat with them calmly.

According to Almeida, it was not planned as a lobby although at the beginning it was made up of parliamentary journalists. “It is true that it does not have the condition of lobby but we want to influence. The goal is to empower women, taking care of their visibility and highlighting the strength and progress they have made.”

Currently, the club holds a meal a month with influential people in different fields to highlight the struggle of women and show the milestones that they are achieving or that they achieved but were not recognized at the time. “I think that These groups serve to provide visibility to the collective consciousness from individual consciousness. In front of all the men’s clubs there had to be one for women“Adds Almeida.

The president of the 25 Club recognizes that “there is no concept of lobby in Spain and if it is there, it is in the worst sense; but yes, we press, because we want in a more general way organize the collective of the feminist movement so that it is recognized in society“.

Your most urgent challenges would be “education in equality between men and womenmotherhood that has always been considered something of women but is a shared problem and conciliation.

And warns, Educating is not only when we are small, “we must educate when we are older.” and at all levels, business, cultural… We must shorten and create levels of education also from the top down.”

Women’s Foundation

The Women Foundation is defined as a feminist NGO that was created in 1994 at the initiative of the Young Women Association. for the development of equality policies. Although in the beginning she specialized in supporting the activity and economic autonomy of women, she now works in various fields and manages the Soledad Cazorla Prieto Scholarship Fundwhich provide financial support and legal advice to the families of female victims of gender violence with special attention to orphans.

Your president, Marisa Soletowarns: “We are not even a lobby nor, as the extreme right now says, a beach bar. We are a social organization, which is part of the feminist movement in Spain. “And she insists that They do not even represent the exclusive interests of womenbut rather its proposal is “global, for a more just and equitable society for women and men and to eradicate discrimination.”

They claim that “the feminist movement has been active in Spain since before the political transition and has been pushing all the given social changes such as the Divorce Law, abortion, legislation against gender violence, the Equality Law and many other reforms.

In your day to day life, They accompany thousands of women in business, employment or social activation projectswhile they seek solutions for the development of legislation on equality and are available to professionals, companies and public administrations to achieve it.

Despite the bad reputation that feminism has always had, “since the suffragettes, who were called hysterical”, it remains more necessary than ever: “Real and effective equality is pending. “Problems such as violence against women, the differences and inequalities that can be seen in employment statistics, wealth or poverty, education or power continue to demonstrate that it is necessary to continue.”

And on that path, the Women’s Foundation bet on education and laws at the same time: “Legislation fulfills a social didactic function but there are legislative advances that will not be effective if changes do not occur in the general culture.”

Spanish Association of Business Women (ASEME)

Is about the first association of businesswomen that was created in Spain. Their first actions took place clandestinely because when they were born, in 1969, the right of association did not exist. After its legalization, now in democracy, They set themselves as their main objectiveachieve equal opportunities for women in their access to the world of work, eliminating any discrimination; defend and promote the free private initiative of businesswomen and contribute to improving female business activity.

Its focus of action has been, for more than 40 years, women and business. From there, they have opted for entrepreneurship, professional development and networking support. “We are both in business organizations, as well as in the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and Public Administrations to vindicate the rights of business and professional women,” explains Eva Serrano, president of Aseme.

The Asociation It is recognized as “a feminist, democratic lobby that firmly believes that men and women they must move forward together on equal opportunities.” Serrano considers that the negative perception that exists is “due to politically controlled groups, which only serve ideologies and not the community” and that, in his opinion, “They are distorting the initial message of the suffragettes, breaking the union between women and despising men. And this only means that we will soon return to the caves, that is, we will collect alone and they will hunt the Mammoth in a group.”

His commitment is to education, “because co-responsibility begins in your own homeand conciliation must be guaranteed by the State”, but they also want it to be established “the sanity and moderation of the feminist movement, so that we are not misled and the progress, which there is, can be consolidated and continue moving forward.

Although there is much to do, They are optimistic: “Spain is more advanced than many people believe. In fact, at ASEME we have had bilateral meetings, with China, India, Germany, Ukraine and others, who have come to ask us how we do it, to share experiences and learn.”

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