'EQUALITY' is set to continue to be a hot topic for the decade of the '20s, and the planet's younger generations, especially, are unlikely to let their leaders get away with overlooking this crucial issue: in terms of gender, specifically, as this is a condition that none of us can escape.
And it's not just about women demanding to wield the whip and keep men down, as some sectors of society believe – it's about both men and women having access to the same rights and opportunities, and being subject to the same moral and legal duties, as each other.
Although it seems like a tired subject for some, 'feminism' or, better termed, 'gender equality' is actually quite a new battle in historical terms: plenty of adults from western cultures who are not even yet retired will remember a time when women could not take out loans or hire purchase, open a bank account or sign for a mortgage, without their husbands' permission; when men were denied the chance of being stay-at-home dads or to work part-time and become chief childcarer; when married women were barred from promotion at work or even forced to leave when they wed; when men would have been unable to apply for jobs as secretaries or nurses, or sure to be rejected in favour of women if they did.
Effectively, in all fields of the global economy and as little as 40 or 50 years ago, the ideas, talents and perspective of half the population was excluded – men's ideas and talents, as well as women's.
For today's young adults, the thought of a 'house husband' being the subject of a double-page magazine feature, or a woman earning less than a man for the same quality, amount and relevance of work, are unthinkable, or even laughable; but figures show that even in the first world, there is still plenty to achieve to close the gap and give males and females equal consideration and chances.
And Spain is the place where they can achieve all this – it's officially in the world top 10 for gender equality.
Here's how and why, and what Spain as a nation has accomplished so far this century.
How Spain managed to be world number eight
According to the Global Economic Forum's Gender Gap report, Spain is eighth-best in the world and has made massive leaps in the last year alone.
Whilst in 2018, the western Mediterranean country sat at number 29 in the world – still among the top 10% of the planet or 20% of countries studied – by the end of 2019, it had soared an eye-watering 21 slots up the ranking.
Overall, Spain has managed to close the gender gap in all areas by 79.5%, and the countries which are ahead of it in terms of progress are exactly those you would expect: the highly socially-evolved Scandinavian nations.
Iceland is the planet's most gender-equal country, having closed the sex gap by 88%, followed by Norway, at 84%, Finland at 83.2%, and Sweden at 82%.
Surprisingly, Nicaragua is above Spain – one of Central America's poorest nations, it nevertheless needs its women for survival and, like many regions in this area, men are more likely to emigrate to find work to feed their families, meaning it is the women who practically run the country.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com