Working their way to the top
María Gomez y Patiño, Professor at the Spanish University of Zaragoza, presented her talk about women in Spanish journalism, to University of Guelph students on Monday Nov.11. After beginning with a brief timeline of women’s rights in Spain, she provided many names and descriptions of women who helped to break down gender barriers in academics.
While the lecture were historically focused, Gomez y Patiño tied these historical facts and figures to broader social issues for women, many of which are still prevalent today. For example, she noted that many of the powerful women she mentioned were born in cities with major universities, leading to women using education as a tool for equity. Today, with a 7:1 ratio of women to men on campus, it appears that women maintain great interest in being educated.
Beyond education and journalism careers, the focus of the talk was the increasing involvement of women in literary, political, and social life. Many of the important women in Spanish history that were mentioned were not only journalists, but writers, activists, and entrepreneurs. They remain examples set to encourage other women to pursue their own careers, even if it may currently be male-dominated.
The lecture served as an encouraging voice for female academics, but also pointed some areas of tension that still exist. Gomez y Patiño’s discussion of a particular female journalist and translator noted that, unfortunately, she was known more for her relations with a famous man than for her own work and writing. Looking at magazine racks today will tell you that this same phenomenon still occurs. Numerous headlines exist that target a woman’s romantic relationships and define them by their ties to men. Women have attained many legal rights since the beginning of their academic and journalistic careers, but that does not mean that all the social issues have disappeared. When asked about the current situation of women, Gomez y Patiño brought up the fact that, while women have access to governmental roles, Spain has still not met their quota of women in government. She further explained that many of the women in government are used as ‘makeup’ to give the appearance of progress without actually giving them in a say in the country’s issues.
However, the future is not so bleak as 60 to 70 per cent of students in communications colleges are women, and females have much more opportunity than in the past to make their mark upon society. With intelligent and ambitious women such as Gomez y Patiño, who are willing to speak or write about gender issues and demand more equity from society, there will likely be much progress and autonomy for women in the future.