The socialist candidate for mayor of Valencia, Sandra Gómez, rounds off the electoral campaign in recent days with a meeting this afternoon to talk about “the future of women.” The Minister of Finance, MarÃa Jesús Montero, one of the feminist voices of the Socialist Party, will participate in it. Women are a group that the candidates also ‘shoot’ these days, knowing -after the latest polls- that it is one of those that is still undecided.
In the CIS survey – prepared in the month of April in the Valencian Community and still without the siege of the electoral campaign -, to the question of “which party do you plan to vote for in the next regional elections on May 28?” among those who show doubts, they are 22.9% and they are 20.9%. They are also more likely not to vote: they are 2.3% compared to 1.8% of men.
Gaining their support is an objective of both, although the left parties claim it more forcefully. Both PSPV, CompromÃs or Unides Podem talk about “feminisms†in their programs and list specific proposals aimed at women. Among the ideas, the PSPV assures that it will include specific content on feminism in the agenda of oppositions, access tests, selective courses and public employment promotion processes; CompromÃs will propose a Valencian Strategy for the promotion of egalitarian masculinities to “improve the emotional well-being and quality of life of men”; while UP proposes a research program on occupational diseases typical of feminized professions or conditioning lactation rooms in companies that have more than 10 workers.
But, apart from linking women to maternity, they also propose improvements in the detection and management of cases of gender violence and advocate getting out of sexual exploitation, which CompromÃs considers to have been a “survival strategy” for some women and LGTBI people. The treatment of this problem is not trivial, since for the PSPV, the fight against prostitution has been a maxim in this legislature, led mainly by the Minister Gabriela Bravo and the focus of discussion with CompromÃs, whose former leader Mónica Oltra did not agree with the proposals abolitionists of the first.
However, the PSPV continues in its efforts and includes asking the Government to promote a Comprehensive Law abolitionist of prostitution, an idea in which they also find the Popular Party. And it is that throughout his program he seeks complicity with the voters, although he renounces the concept of “feminism” black on white. He talks about equality, the fight against gender violence and diversity with special emphasis on the reincorporation of women into the world of work after maternity with measures such as, for example, the creation of a zero quota, through a subsidy line, for self-employed women who return to their work activity after maternity, guaranteeing this aid for the subsequent 24 months.
Citizens specify the protection of women also in the protocols applicable in centers for minors in the Valencian Community, they say, to prevent crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity against its residents, a measure that directly alludes to the case of the ex-husband from Oltra. Vox, on the other hand, threatens to “repeal all gender laws” and in terms of the family, advocates fighting what it calls the “maternal gap”. It does not mention women and, instead, the “man from the countryside”, there is a stigmatization of the one who assures.
The proposals are one, but what electorate are the candidates facing? When asked what the “general” situation of the Valencian Community is, 51.5% of those surveyed by the CIS answered that it was “good”. In the segregation by sex, it can be seen how women were more benevolent, since 54.5% believe that the situation is good compared to 48.4% of men.
In general, they are also more benevolent than them when assessing how the region has changed in the last legislature and they are also more generous in the qualification they make of the management of the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, until now. If for 48.1% of the total respondents the management has been good, for them it is 49.7% while they remain in that assessment at 46.5%.
In the evaluations, female voters are generally more lenient than male voters, with the exception of a single case. Thus, in their ratings of the political leaders who choose to lead the Council, women give Ximo Puig (PSPV) a 5.82 compared to 5.34 for them; Men give Carlos Mazón (PPCV) a 4.65 while women give him 4.89 and Joan Baldovà (CompromÃs) they give him a 5.6 and men 4.9. On the other hand, Hèctor Illueca (Unides Podem) is given a 4.29 by women and 4.03 by men; to Mamen Peris (Citizens), they score 4.42 and they score 3.74. On the other hand, with Carlos Flores, women are more critical: they give him a 3.34 compared to 3.42 for men.
Their gaze is more national, also according to the CIS pre-election survey, because when asked “what will be more important to you: the issues of your autonomous community or the general issues of Spain?”, they remain with the problem national by 32.6% compared to 28.7% of them. Meanwhile, the men consulted are more concerned about regional affairs: they represent 66.7% in this case and women, 59.3%.
On the other hand, in addition to being more interested in national politics, they are more to the left. The average for the Valencian Community stands at 4.9 (1 means ‘most to the left’ and 10 ‘most to the right’), but in the division by sex, while men are placed in a 4.95 they do it in 4.85, and they recognize themselves more on the left than on the right.
Among the voters of the PP, which is the political force that presents a greater intention to vote (21.9%), they are 23.7% but they are 20.3%; while among PSOE voters, they are 20.3% and women, 21.5%.
It also happens among those who plan to vote for CompromÃs: they are 12.6% and women 14.6%, although in Unides Podem the trend changes and they are more: 5.3% compared to 3.4% of them . Both in Vox and in Ciudadanos they are also more in voting intention.
