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INÉS ALBERDI “Feminism taught us that the personal is political” At the second Gender Sociology Conference at the Center for Sociological Research, Inés Alberdi focused her presentation on the role of women in the Spanish Transition and on feminism as the driving force behind that social change. “We learned that the personal is political, and the Spanish Transition was a profound sociological transformation.” Alberdi recounted the most significant changes that affected women's social and political status and their evolving mindset. In the 1960s, two key factors transformed everything: emigration to Europe and the rise of tourism . "It had an emulative impact," Alberdi explained. "Spaniards who emigrated often returned to their hometowns in the summer to spend their holidays, because paid vacations existed in Europe. And they shared their daily experiences." Alberdi explained how the phenomenon of tourism acted as a driving force for social change. Their behavior served as a point of comparison, allowing Spaniards to observe the differences between their respective lives. They learned about what was happening abroad: political freedom, a free press, democratic organization, unions, and more open romantic relationships. "Everything that was prohibited in Spain was considered a right beyond its borders: desires for democracy, personal autonomy, and geographical mobility emerged. We began to look at Europe with admiration and envy. Fashion, bikinis, and music were the most visible aspects." But if there was one group that truly experienced this difference, it was women. “We arrive at the most important aspect of the influence that tourism had on women's behavior and aspirations. A desire for modernization emerged: women envied sexual freedom and access to birth control, and they began to wonder how it was possible to be with a husband without getting pregnant.” In the spring of 1975, a fundamental reform arrived: the Law of May 2nd, which restored women's legal capacity . “For the first time in Spanish history, women achieved the equality that came with the 1978 Constitution, which established equality in civil and criminal matters and within marriage. The family model changed, and the status of women in society rose enormously.” Alberdi emphasized that, although we live in a more prosperous society, challenges remain in areas such as employment opportunities, the eradication of violence, and the gender pay gap. “There’s a paradox: feminism often gets bad press and is associated with conflict. There’s a misconception that it’s against men, when in reality it’s a philosophy of defending equality that has had the support of many men throughout history. Sometimes it’s difficult to call yourself a feminist, it’s amazing, but it’s true.” CONSTANZA TOBIO “Feminism is perseverance” Constanza Tobío, winner of the 2021 National Prize for Sociology and Political Science, began her presentation with a thank you to the CIS: “Feminism is perseverance and it is very gratifying to see that these five award winners already represent a social change.” “I discovered sociology early, at 16, when a copy of the FOESSA survey fell into my hands. I had never seen a book like it. I was amazed by the charts, the tables, the amount of information, and the internal logical structure. When I learned what a survey was, my amazement only grew, so I decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life.” After graduating, she became interested in inequalities and the integration of women into the labor market. “Research is very similar to a detective novel: there’s a mystery, there are clues and evidence that must be carefully analyzed. The mystery I encountered was how, in just two decades, the traditional family model of gender roles was transformed into a model of dual employment.” It was a profound social change, silently spearheaded by women.   So she decided to focus on a specific question: how do full-time working mothers manage? She was initially interested in their narratives: what were their reasons for choosing to work? Half cited family financial necessity, while the other half mentioned a desire for economic independence, personal fulfillment, putting their studies into practice, or escaping the confines of the home. There was a strong focus on employment that went beyond its purely instrumental nature. Work opened the door to a new identity. She then analyzed how caregiving was organized: a process of substitution by other women who care for their children, either as paid caregivers or grandmothers. “The world of care is a universe, a crucial part of social reality that we are still mapping. It is a system involving the state, the family, the market, and the third sector.”

The vision of the five sociologists awarded the National Prize for Sociology and Political Science is the common thread that inspires this year's V Conference on Sociology of Gender organized by the Center for Sociological Research on the occasion of Women's Day. The Director General of Coordination and Research at the CIS, Silvia García Ramos, defined the event as an already consolidated institutional space for debate and knowledge production around the Sociology of Gender, which is made available to all sociologists and researchers: "another example of the CIS's commitment to giving academics and social thinkers the space they deserve, to highlighting their intellectual leadership and to guaranteeing balanced representation in the public debate." García Ramos clarified that gender equality “is not a sectoral issue nor a secondary matter. It is a structural dimension that permeates all areas of social life: employment, care work, education, political participation, science, and culture. Analyzing gender inequality involves investigating how power, resources, time, and opportunities are distributed in our society.” “Equality is a way to enrich life,” declared José Félix Tezanos, who also wanted to convey his personal impressions after arriving at the institution and discovering that there were no female sociologists awarded the National Prize for Sociology and Political Science. “I experienced it as a social pathology. I believe that the historical discrimination and subjugation of women, from the later stages of the Neolithic period onward, must be understood as a serious social pathology, a flaw in the formation of society. A pathology that distorts our civilization, our way of understanding coexistence, and that also distorts political behavior.” He recalled his experience as a child “born in the year of famine, in 1946” and the episodes of contempt for women he witnessed from the innocence of childhood, before going on to observe the virtual absence of female professors in the faculties of Law, Sociology, and Political Science where he studied. “We must flee from social pathologies,” Tezanos continued. “And in contrast to them, we must strive for social normality, balance, and that is reflected in equality. Right now, we have a treasure at the CIS, which are the five award winners, and their contribution is unique and an example for society.”   The Government Delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé García, focused her speech on the significant progress made in gender equality over the last decade. She addressed the five award winners, assuring them that “laws serve to solidify everything you research in society.” “Throughout the 20th century, feminism has had three fundamental pillars: activism, academia/research, and legislation. Legislating, implementing public policies, and reclaiming the occupation of public space.” She pointed out that the most progress has been made in the workplace, with the lowest wage gap in the historical series (15%), and reviewed the legislative initiatives that have advanced women in work and caregiving. The Dependency Law and the Comprehensive Law against Gender Violence, “bringing into the public sphere what was in the private sphere, where the world was silent, and today each of us becomes a 'purple point' to be able to report abuse, and even so, we still haven't managed to flatten that terrible curve.” But also the Labor Reform, the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage or the increase in pensions; the Parity Law, the future Time Use Law, the equalization of maternity and paternity leave, and the Equal Pay Law. “Responsible and feminist governments know that equality is also at stake at the end of the month.” Despite these advances, Bernabé pointed out that there are still many areas where much work remains to be done. And he posed a question: “Are women in this country prepared to face any kind of crisis on equal terms with men? I'm telling you, in my community, the DANA storm affected women much more than men. Who do you think kept their car? Who took advantage of the furlough scheme? Who stayed home with the children until they could go back to school? When things go wrong, women once again face greater difficulties.” And she concluded with what she considers “the challenge of all challenges.” Pointing to her mobile phone, she asserted that social media is the new arena where women are completely unequal. She added that there has even been a campaign against the word “feminism.” “The algorithms of the digital wild west and their owners do have an ideology. And it’s not new; it’s the oldest in the world, the one that wants to take us back to the private sphere, to invisibility, to silence.” María Ángeles Durán, winner of the 2018 National Sociology Prize, delivered a masterclass in humanity, passion, clarity, and common sense. Her story is that of a “complete sociologist.” The professor recounted her career path, from the early family and personal decisions about what she should or shouldn't study, to the sacrifices and life's twists and turns that shaped her destiny. “I developed a sense of class consciousness right away, because I lost it when my father died. And that made me a sociologist because I was observing Spanish society simultaneously from many different perspectives.” “I have a degree thanks to two women: one who took on debts, and another who sacrificed her social standing so that I could study without the burden of family responsibilities.” And she wove together anecdotes about professors and mentors, her first jobs, the richness of nuance in her early work as a surveyor and coder. She learned to work with hostile respondents, to be aware of her own image, to doubt her own data, to interpret nonverbal language, the unspoken codes where gesture and tone were paramount; she learned to manage the frustration of having to reduce answers to a yes or no, to be aware that, sometimes, it is impossible to transcribe a message. The diverse fields in which María Ángeles has worked give her a multifaceted view of Spanish society: “The economy is a fiction. It’s just the tip of the iceberg: we confuse employment with work. Every hour of paid work is supported by two hours of unpaid work. And the vast majority of unpaid work hours in the world are done by women.” And she’s not optimistic. “Caregiving is incredibly expensive. We’re being overwhelmed with burdens. Why aren’t we having children? And now, on top of everything else, we have the weight of caring for the elderly…” “We are in a very deep contradiction. And as long as we have this internal confusion of values, feminism is at risk of regressing. I keep saying: let's go for it! But feminism is divided and we have the wind against us.”    

To mark International Women's Day on March 8, the five women awarded the National Prize for Sociology and Political Science, granted by the CIS, wanted to define the key elements that make the research work of social thinkers different, their way of approaching topics, problems, questions and trends. Five sociologists, five professors, five trajectories, five visions, one common thread: to analyze and celebrate, from the Center for Sociological Research, the role of women in society.   Capitolina Díaz Martínez , National Sociology Prize 2025, “Women sociologists gave back to Sociology what the canon had left out: the body, everyday life, and real inequality . Classical Sociology understood society, and women sociologists explained how people live in it. Without women social thinkers, sociology has been more abstract than truthful.”   Inés Alberdi Alonso , National Prize for Sociology and Political Science 2019, “In addition to the usual topics in Sociology, women sociologists have studied some issues neglected by Classical Sociology. These sociologists have highlighted the importance of everyday life and have dedicated themselves to studying it. Within this context, they have emphasized the importance of care work, which is the foundation of human life .”   Carlota Solé i Puig , National Sociology Prize 2023, “Women social thinkers contribute topics to research that connect with the concerns, feelings and needs of their gender, as well as relevant issues in general debates of Contemporary Sociology, through the scientific method of an empirical science.”   Constanza Tobío Soler, National Prize for Sociology and Political Science 2021, “The very otherness of female scientists brings a perspective that allows them to ask different questions and consider different ways of seeking answers . This happened almost two centuries ago, when Harriet Martineau decided to empirically study society, including those institutions or social groups then considered of little interest, such as women or Black people. For the last few decades, female sociologists have been working in the vast, long-invisible field of care , built on the reciprocity essential for human survival. The growing and increasingly recognized presence of women enriches sociology and directs it toward new areas of knowledge about social reality .”   And María Ángeles Durán Heras , winner of the 2018 National Prize for Sociology and Political Science, concludes: “The greatest contribution of women social thinkers is to find the scientific gaps that have not been explored. The legacy of thousands of years in which women were excluded from the centers of thought production has hampered all scientific fields .”