Emakunde has announced the 2026 Equality Award with a grant of 15,000 euros

Miren Elgarresta Larrabide, director of the Emakunde-Basque Institute for Women, has approved the bases and opened the call for the 2026 Emakunde Equality Award, through a resolution dated September 9. The resolution was published in issue number 185 of the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on September 28, 2026, and its official reference is 2026/4020. The award has an economic endowment of 15,000 euros, and the period for submitting candidates begins the day after the publication and lasts for one month, until October 28.

The legal bases of the call are Law 2/1988 of February 5, which created Emakunde, and Legislative Decree 1/2023 of March 16; the latter approves a single legislative text regarding the equality of women and men and free lives against sexist violence against women, and its article 28.3 requests public administrations to promote policies that make visible the contributions of women to heritage and culture. The call is located within Emakunde’s strategic subsidy plan for the 2024-2027 period, and within that plan, the resolution of March 2, 2026, approved the annual subsidy plan; section 3.2.7 of its annex contains information regarding this award.

Characteristics and endowment of the award

The award aims to make visible the contributions of women and feminism and to protect their participation in all areas of life. The call seeks to reward natural persons as well as public and private organizations that have stood out in favor of equality in the Basque Autonomous Community, either for their trajectory or for initiatives and projects aimed at the empowerment of women, the elimination of sex-based discrimination, or the eradication of sexist violence against women.

• Economic endowment: 15,000 euros, charged to the general budgets of the Basque Autonomous Community.
• Award: honorary distinction, public recognition, and the sum of 15,000 euros.
• Public recognition will be given at a public event convened by the Lehendakari.
• In the case of a posthumous woman, the awardee will receive only the honorary distinction and public recognition, without the monetary endowment.
• The award is compatible with subsidies, grants, and resources that other public and private organizations may have granted for the same purpose.

Who can submit candidates

Candidates may be submitted by the candidate themselves or by third parties and organizations, provided they have a residence, headquarters, or representation in the Basque Autonomous Community. The submission can be made at the Emakunde-Basque Institute for Women organization, at Manuel Iradier street 36 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, or via electronic means.

• A report, maximum 20 pages, together with documentation proving the contribution made to equality.
• A summary of the report, maximum 2 pages, stating the reasons why the candidate is suitable.
• In the case of legal entities, the total number of women and men on their staff must be indicated.
• Legal entities must submit candidacies electronically.
• The candidacy and documentation may be presented in Basque or Spanish, in the chosen language.
• A period of ten business days will be given to correct errors.

Jury, evaluation and deadlines

The jury will evaluate the candidacies and make the proposal for the Emakide award. It will consist of:

• Presidency: The director of Emakunde-Basque Institute for Women.
• Secretariat: The head of the organization’s General Secretariat, with voice and vote.
• Committee members: One representative from each provincial council, at the level of deputy; one municipal representative, appointed by the most significant association of municipalities; one technical officer from Emakunde; three experts in the field of equality; and one representative from Emakunde’s Advisory Board.

There are three evaluation criteria: the candidate’s trajectory in the field of equality, the intrinsic importance of the activity, and the resonance and impact it has had in society. The decision on the Emakide award will be given within a maximum period of six months after the deadline for submitting candidacies; if no notification is received after this period, the request may be understood to have been rejected by administrative silence. Candidates who have received the same award in the last three calls cannot be awarded again, if they are essentially the same, and projects must have been carried out in the last three years.

Therefore, the call establishes a tool to give public visibility to outstanding trajectories and projects in favor of equality, and calls upon public and private institutions and natural persons of the Basque Autonomous Community to submit candidacies within a period of one month. The decision exhausts the administrative route, and interested parties may file an appeal for reconsideration before the director of Emakunde within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of the Basque Autonomous Community within two months.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, n.º 185, 28 de septiembre de 2026, Otras Disposiciones, pp. 1-9 (official reference: 2026/4020).