Madrid

Millions join women’s strike: Millions of Spanish women took part in an unprecedented nationwide strike on International Women’s Day last Thursday, to protest against sexual discrimination, the gender pay gap and violence against women. Rallying under the slogan “If we stop, the world stops”, hundreds of thousands of women took part in protest marches in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, while about 5.2 million walked out of their workplaces for periods of between two and 24 hours (leading to severe disruptions to public transport). The mayors of Madrid and Barcelona, Manuela Carmena and Ada Colau, and Spain’s deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, all took part in the strike – as did thousands of journalists. Women are paid 13% less than men in the public sector in Spain, and 19% less in the private sector, according to EU data.