The Ermua City Council has been recognized with the ‘Women in the Public Sector’ Award in the “Reference Institution in Female Leadership” category. This award highlights the entity's promotion of public equality policies and its commitment to a fairer, more inclusive administration that champions female leadership. Rosalía Herrera, the Director General, accepted the award last Friday at the ‘Women in the Public Sector 2026’ Congress, held in the city of Valencia.
This accolade celebrates over 35 years of municipal work dedicated to placing equality at the heart of public action, establishing it as a structural pillar of good governance and a key tool for advancing rights, social cohesion, and democratic quality. Beatriz Gamiz, the Mayor of Ermua, expressed her satisfaction with this recognition, emphasizing: “Receiving this award is an immense honor because it acknowledges a trajectory, but above all, a profound conviction: that equality is not a mere add-on to public action, nor an institutional embellishment, nor a declaration of good intentions. Equality is a way of governing. It is a way of understanding democracy. It is a demand for justice.”
The awarded candidacy has highlighted a journey that began in 1988 with the creation of the Municipal Service for Women's Support, incorporating pioneering comprehensive care resources. In 1991, the City Council took a decisive step by establishing the Equality council and department, equipped with its own structure and budget. In 1992, the Municipal Council for Equality was formed, the first of its kind in Euskadi, and in 1995, one of the first equality plans with a transversal approach was approved. Subsequently, in 2003, the launch of the House of Women, the first facility of its kind in Euskadi, reinforced Ermua's role as a benchmark municipality in this field.
Throughout these decades, the City Council has consolidated an exemplary institutional female leadership model, integrating equality into its management structure and advancing the incorporation of a gender perspective in key areas such as good governance, public employment, and municipal budgets. Alongside this, it has developed spaces for participation and governance, as well as a comprehensive model for preventing, addressing, and repairing gender-based violence.
“"This award does not belong solely to one City Council, but to all the women who have propelled Ermua forward: those who came before, those who are here today, the political leaders, the technical staff, the feminist movement, the associations, and so many residents who have transformed equality into a shared cause and a collective task."
“"The recognition transcends Ermua, and I wish to share it with all the women in the public sector who, from every position and responsibility, large or small, visible or silent, work every day with commitment, rigor, and a vocation for service to incorporate equality into each and every task they undertake."
