Barcelona promotes business gender equality with a week of debates and challenges

More than 3,000 people have taken part in Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week. The event coincided with the MWC and International Women’s Day. The Consorci de la Zona Franca is committed to female leadership and diversity.

Gender equality in Barcelona companies was the central focus of the sixth edition of Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), which brought together thousands of attendees at DFactory in Zona Franca. Over three days, from 4 to 6 March, the event brought to the table the challenges and opportunities for moving towards real parity in the workplace, in a week also marked by the Mobile World Congress and 8 March.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, the organiser of the event, managed to mobilise more than 3,000 people, both in person and online. In total, 77 speakers took part in 15 sessions that addressed concrete proposals to reduce the gender gap and promote equal opportunities in key sectors.

The Consorci’s director, Blanca Sorigué, stressed that gender equality is essential for innovation and sustainable growth. Although she acknowledges progress and new commitments, she insists that the path towards effective equality is still long. For his part, executive president Pere Navarro highlighted the talent and vision shown during the sessions, and defended the need to promote initiatives that strengthen female leadership as a driver of business transformation.

The BWAW programme explored equality from perspectives as diverse as inclusive architecture, aerospace innovation, video games, science, health and financial technology. It also gave visibility to the role of women in the security forces and in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca has already announced that the seventh edition of Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week will be held in March 2027, thereby consolidating its commitment to making Barcelona a benchmark for diversity and equity in business.

Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week was created with the aim of being a meeting point for companies, institutions and professionals committed to gender equality. DFactory, the event’s venue, has established itself as a reference space for innovation and digital transformation in the city, hosting initiatives that seek to accelerate change towards more inclusive and competitive working environments.