Spain's railway history highlights gender gaps in technical trades

In Spain, the history of the railway sector highlights the long-standing gender gap in traditionally male-dominated trades. María Concepción García González, a specialist at the Railway Museum of Madrid, notes that while Renfe's apprentice schools briefly opened doors for women between 1981 and 1986, the closure of these schools halted that progress.

Historically, following the 1944 National Labor Regulations and the aftermath of the Civil War, these training programs were strictly for men and carried strong ideological and religious undertones. The exclusion of women from technical roles like welding and mining was reinforced by both social traditions and the political climate of the era.