Four future magistrates reflect on their role in society, in the profession and the need for women to access the leadership of the judiciary
“The judges are going to break the glass ceiling in justice with headbutts & rdquor ;. Clear and resounding. The author of the sentence is Carmen Nisa, 33 years old and from Huelva, who has already approved the opposition to be a judge and receives training in the Judicial School, a few kilometers from Barcelona. From that space he can watch, like his companions Laura Elguero, Maria Iglesias Bueno and Victoria Borrego the extension of the Catalan capital.
Any one of them could have uttered Carmen’s words. They are clear: women will reach the top of the judiciary because they are more (56%) than men. it’s a matter of time. Not much: this year the School has 119 women (73.91%) and 42 men (26.09%).
Not only the x-ray of future Spanish judges has evolved, but also their way of seeing the profession and life. And that despite having spent years preparing the opposition. Ahead of all the parameters, they express their vocation of service to a changing society. In a meeting with EL PERIÓDICO, Carmen, Laura, María and the Mexican Victoria defend the need for the presence of women in the judiciary because “we are 50% of society& rdquor; and majority in the judicial career. They are aware that the leadership of the judiciary is dominated by men, but they are blindly confident that this trend will be reversed.
María, from León and 34 years old, and Carmen they have their parents’ initials engraved on their gown. “It was an effort by all three,” says María. Carmen reiterates: “They have accompanied me in this change and it is an achievement of the three.” Neither of them, like Laura, 30 years old and from Santander, and Victoria, 30 years old and from the Mexican state of Guanajuato (she moved to Barcelona through an Ibero-American training network) have relatives who work as judges, which breaks a myth (only 4.52% of students have relatives in the judiciary). María’s mother is a teacher and her father is a civil servant; Carmen’s mother, administrative, and her father, now deceased, was a national police officer.
Atlético’s shirt
“My father respected judges and prosecutors a lot and I wanted to be that figure that he respected so much,” says Carmen, who specifies that she likes criminal law because it allows her to be close to the victims and deal with the needs of the most disadvantaged. “He makes you feel like you can change the world for the better & rdquor ;, she adds. He spent eight years preparing for the opposition and when he faltered he received encouragement from his coach, an Atlético de Madrid fan, who repeated the club’s motto: “Never stop believing”. When he approved, he bought a jersey for that team.
Laura, who refers to her as “very organized and responsible& rdquor; He argues that his purpose is “to help people’s problems & rdquor ;. To get closer to other worlds, the School organizes visits to prisons, airports, the media and breathalyzer controls. “You leave the theoretical and see how life works and the consequences that our resolutions can have & rdquor ;, he emphasizes. Victoria acknowledges that when she first stepped foot in court she “fell in love” with the profession. “We provide an important service in people’s lives,” she insists.
This newspaper asked the four trainee judges about the need for women’s participation in Justice, if they consider that family reconciliation or maternity is an aspect that influences their professional career and if the lack of women in the judicial leadership It’s a sign of machismo. “It is just as necessary that there are women as men in the Administration of Justiceprovided that the people who want to present themselves demonstrate that they have the knowledge that the opposition requires& rdquor;, explains Laura.
Regarding maternity and the availability that the family leaves you, he answers: “It is the same as in other types of work. There is no problem that you develop your personal life as you want and with respect for the profession.” “I do not consider that the lack of women in the Spanish judicial leadership is a symptom of machismo because, simply, it is necessary to wait a few years & rdquor ;.
The machismo of the 80s
Carmen also maintains that the presence of both men and women “trained & rdquor; in Justice. Of course, in his opinion, the problem of family reconciliation is a negative aspect in access to the judicial career and in possible promotions, due to the intense dedication in preparing for the oppositions and the subsequent continuous training that is required.
The judicial associations have been proposing for years that formulas to combine family, profession and training. Regarding the shortage of women at the top, Carmen assures that it is a sign of the “machismo of the society of the 80s in this country”, the moment in which those who are now in high judicial positions agreed to the race.
For María, the presence of women judges is essential because it is an area where “fundamental decisions for society” are made. On family reconciliation and motherhood, she is concise: “Co-responsibility between the mother and the father is necessary so that our career does not suffer harm & rdquor ;.
“The lack of women in the Spanish judicial leadership now does not reflect what the career is, because we are 56% and we are undervalued. It is a situation that has to change.” For Victoria, the “sensitivity and awareness of which we are characteristic allows us to approach justice from a much more comprehensive perspective & rdquor ;. In her country, Mexico, gender equality is implemented in the Justice Administration.