The Provincial Council announces the 2026 Labor Equality Promotion award

The Provincial Council of Albacete, through its Equality Unit, has announced the distinctive award “Promotion of Labor Equality 2026”, within the framework of the Provincial Observatory for Equality in Labor Relations. The call, approved by decree number 3865, of 08/21/2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Albacete number 99, dated August 26, 2026, and recognizes the work of companies and entities committed to equal opportunities between men and women.

The distinction, provided with a financial award of €1,000 charged to the Council’s budget and subject to tax withholding, will be presented at a public event which the winning company must attend along with a significant representation of its workforce. In the case of public entities, the recognition will be exclusively honorary.

An award with a constitutional and legal basis

The call is supported by Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution, which proclaims equality before the law without discrimination on the basis of sex, and Article 9.2, which entrusts public authorities with promoting the conditions so that this equality is real and effective. It is also framed within Organic Law 3/2007, of March 22, for the Effective Equality of Women and Men, which obliges companies to adopt measures against labor discrimination and, where applicable, to develop and apply an equality plan.

The award is part of the Framework Agreement signed by the Council on June 8, 2020, for the implementation of the Provincial Observatory for Equality in Labor Relations, whose objective is to fight against discrimination on the basis of sex and increase the comprehensive presence of women at all levels.

Requirements and submission of candidacies

Companies, associations, and other institutions or entities of public or private law with headquarters or activity in any municipality of the province of Albacete may apply. Among the required conditions are:

• To be legally constituted and registered in the corresponding public registry.
• To be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
• Not to have been sanctioned or reported in the previous three years for infractions regarding equality.
• To hold the Companies and Teams Certificate that commit to labor equality, issued by the Observatory.
• To have a current equality plan, negotiated and registered in REGCON, with a salary audit, or to prove equality measures implemented in the last three years.
• To have a protocol against sexual harassment and harassment based on sex, and training in protection against sexual violence.
• Companies with more than 50 employees must have measures for the real equality of LGBTI people, in accordance with Law 4/2023, of February 28.

Applications shall be submitted through the official page of the Observatory (www.opialbacete.es). The admission period begins the day following the publication of the call and concludes on October 31, 2026. Incomplete applications may be rectified within a non-extendable period of 10 business days.

Evaluation and assessment criteria

The procedure will be managed by the Equality Unit and evaluated by an Evaluation Committee chaired by the Deputy for Equality, with members from the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, the Albacete City Council, CC. OO., UGT, and the Albacete Employers’ Confederation (FEDA). The final score will be the arithmetic mean of the assessments issued.

Applications will be assessed according to two blocks of criteria:

• Measures already implemented and entity structure (45 points): gender-balanced staff structure, work-life balance measures, voluntary equality plan, training, pay equity, harassment prevention, and non-sexist communication.
• Innovative equality action proposal (55 points): non-sexist language detection software, internal guides, awareness campaigns (8M, 25N, 28J), training in co-responsibility, work-life balance spaces, and workshops on egalitarian masculinities, among others.

Entities must achieve a minimum of 65 points to be eligible for the award. The resolution will be published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Albacete and must be issued within one month from the closing of the candidacy period.

An incentive for social responsibility

The distinction may be revoked if information is falsified, the conditions of the grant are altered, or the requirements that motivated the award are lost. Awarded entities must provide documentary evidence, within a maximum of 6 months from the delivery, of the implementation of the recognized measures, and they authorize the dissemination of their logo and image on the Observatory’s website.

With this call, the Provincial Council of Albacete reinforces its commitment to real equality within the provincial business fabric, rewarding not only well-established good practices but also innovative proposals that companies and entities in the province commit to implementing during the coming year.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Albacete, number 99, August 26, 2026, Third Section. Local Administration, page 16 (official reference: decree number 3865, of 08/21/2026).