A few days ago, I attended an event at the Círculo Ecuestre in Barcelona where the foundational fabric of the Catalan capital was discussed from a gender perspective. The role of women in foundations was debated, and the protagonists were the top executives of four Catalan foundations: Sara Puig from the Miro Foundation, Judith Mascó from the ARED Foundation, Ainhoa Grandes from the Macba Foundation, and Gloria Oliver from the Pascual Maragall Foundation. The room, with over a hundred attendees, all women, also represented part of this foundational fabric of women—professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, lawyers, scientists, artists, athletes—who have decided to weave their professional and personal paths into institutions with social impact. They dedicate part of their time to initiatives that leave an impact on the city, on the community, and on themselves. In short, what they do transcends.
From that meeting, I want to share data and reflections with you. Did you know that 70% of foundation staff are women? Did you know that 65% of their volunteers are women? Did you know that 60% of their executives are women? However, only 30% of the boards of trustees are occupied by women. That is to say, those who drive foundations, social transformation and impact initiatives, those who give their time, energy, and generosity, being the muscle that moves these organizations, are women. Conversely, in top management and strategic positions, women are still a minority.
I want to share this as a fact, because considering that the role of a trustee is unpaid, it would be very easy to excuse ourselves from there. Being part of a board of trustees is unpaid, but if the strategic decisions of organizations that humanize cities are made predominantly by a masculine perspective, while those who work in the third sector are predominantly female talent, we will never be able to be coherent, and we will repeat patterns that we have already shown to be inefficient.
Barcelona is the Spanish city with the most foundations per capita. This is called foundational density, and Barcelona has 141 foundations per 100,000 inhabitants. The second city would be Madrid with 85 per 100,000. This data reflects our capacity to create foundations, lead them, and make them grow. This is largely due to the associative fabric so deeply rooted in Catalan culture that has helped us advance so much. That capacity to create bridges and alliances between society and private initiative to solve problems makes us a land of foundations, impact, and volunteering. And all that human strength is, for the most part, women. However, the photo only shows the members of the board of trustees, who are mostly men.
We should be proud to be part of the city with the most foundations, with the most volunteers, and with the most generosity and awareness of impact. Yes, we are. Now all that's missing is for the Círculo Ecuestre hall to be 50% full of men and for the boards of trustees to reach 50% women. That will be truly transcending.