Nearly seven in ten Spanish companies expect the recent extension of paid parental birth leave to 19 weeks to exert little or no negative pressure on daily business productivity, according to data released by the Cámara de Comercio de España and Sigmados.
The findings emerge from the latest Estudio sobre el Clima Empresarial en España, an evaluation of gender equality and workplace disparities. While the survey was conducted between August and September of 2025—prior to the policy’s formal entry into force—the responses reveal a broad consensus across various business models and headcount sizes. According to data published by El Correo, roughly 1,900 companies were surveyed for the report, spanning micro-enterprises with six to nine workers up to large firms employing over a hundred people. Across these categories, two-thirds of organizations dismissed the idea that expanded family leave schedules would destabilize their operational efficiency.
Despite the prevailing confidence surrounding leave policies, the research maps a persistent structural imbalance in workforce composition and executive leadership across Spanish industries.
Workforce Representation Varies Sharply by Sector
Female employment distribution across the Spanish market remains heavily divided along industry lines. According to the Chamber of Commerce study, women account for at least 50% of the total workforce in 42.1% of surveyed companies. Furthermore, female employment concentrations run highest within firms employing 100 or more workers, as well as in specific service sectors.
In tourism, hospitality, and restaurant businesses, women make up half or more of the staff in nearly two-thirds of operations. Conversely, traditional heavy industries and manual trades exhibit stark underrepresentation. Data cited by Infobae and El Correo shows that in 58.5% of construction companies, female workers comprise less than 20% of the total headcount. Industrial manufacturing fares similarly, with 38.4% of industrial firms failing to reach the 20% threshold of female employment. Overall, the study notes that roughly 4.1% of all evaluated businesses report zero female workers on their rosters.
Persistent Obstacles in Executive Suites
The gender gap widens significantly when tracking career progression toward upper management. While executive teams show modest improvements compared to prior reporting cycles, leadership boards remain largely male-dominated.
Data from the Cámara de Comercio shows that 36.2% of businesses now report women holding 50% or more of their executive positions, marking an incremental climb from the 32.5% recorded the previous year. However, this progress is countered by lower tiers: in 49.1% of companies, women occupy fewer than 20% of director-level roles, and more than one-third of surveyed firms employ no female executives at all. The construction sector again occupies the extreme end of the spectrum, with 62.8% of construction firms reporting female executive representation below 20%.
When asked to diagnose the root causes of this executive deficit, 47.3% of companies surveyed pointed directly to a lack of structural work-life balance measures. Businesses identified the ongoing difficulty of juggling professional responsibilities alongside domestic and family care as the primary barrier preventing women from reaching senior leadership posts.
To dismantle these barriers, corporate respondents overwhelmingly prioritized scheduling adjustments. Over half of the surveyed companies—56.4%—identified schedule flexibility as the single most effective tool for supporting work-life integration. Remote work arrangements followed at 31.2%, while increased state or corporate financial aid for childcare was supported by 20.5% of respondents.
