International Working Women's Day
Workshop in Commemoration of International Women’s Day
Every year, around March 8th, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) holds a workshop in commemoration of International Women’s Day. This workshop, organised by the Equality and Diversity Service (formerly the UAB’s Observatory for Equality), includes several activities, among which we have a keynote act paying homage to a person, department or centre of the UAB that stood out in the defense of women’s rights.
Check here the activities for the 2026 edition
Aim of the Workshop
The act fulfils one of the measures of the UAB’s Gender Equality Action Plan, specifically the one that establishes organising an institutional event on International Women’s Day. This measure, included in the first Action Plan from 2006, is particularly relevant, as it is the first time in the UAB’s history that March 8th is celebrated at an institutional level. Furthermore, it is considered an essential action within the line of action regarding visibility and awareness.
Activities and Content
In the first editions, part of the context of the workshop was focused on showing data of the situation of women at the UAB. This was important because, despite the general notion that the university is a space free from inequality, the data showed an unequal distribution of activities performed by different genders. They presented the data and explained the actions and measures that the UAB was implementing to address this inequality.
Another aspect of the workshop to emphasize is the act of recognition. Each year, we award a woman, entity or person that stood out defending and fighting for women’s rights. And, for the first time, gender research at the UAB was awarded and given visibility.
Evolution of the Workshop
The contents and activities of the workshop have evolved throughout the years, adapting to the policy lines of the different governing teams and the direction of the Equality and Diversity Service. The posters commemorating International Women’s Day also reflected these policy lines. Since 2013, and particularly from 2016, the posters have stopped being just to promote the act and started becoming awareness-raising tools.
Previous Editions
Below, you can find the instances of this workshop since 2006 until today, along with the posters and a brief description of the contents of each. This section will allow you to see how the celebration has evolved and the topics we have touched on throughout the years.
On March 9, 2023, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) commemorated International Working Women's Day with an institutional event in the auditorium of the Rector's Office. The event, organised by the Observatory for Equality, included a recognition of Pilar Carrasquer Oto, director of the Institute of Labour Studies and professor of Sociology at the UAB. The event was presided over by the rector Javier Lafuente and led by the general secretary Esther Zapater. Maria Prats, director of the Observatory for Equality, presented the negotiation process of the gender equality plan in the workplace. The event was broadcast live and its informative accessibility was guaranteed. 
