Machismo yields to ministras

Although gender parity is voluntary in Spain - not legislated, as it is in France and Belgium - Spain now ranks with some of the most historically progressive European governments, like Sweden and Finland, in its representation of women.

Ms. Krook attributes this transformation to Spain's recent history, and particularly its evolution from a dictatorship to a democracy. "You see this in a lot of countries that go through a transition to democracy," she explains. "In that context, you start talking about how to include more people. "

In fact, even under José María Aznar's conservative Popular Party, more women were getting appointed to political posts - a sign of overall changing attitudes toward women. Domestic violence - once a taboo subject - is receiving unprecedented attention, and not just from politicians.

This year's Goya Awards for best Spanish film went to "Te doy mis ojos" ("I give you my eyes"), a film that confronted spousal abuse through its graphic portrayal of a couple locked in a pattern of domestic violence.

And the Socialists have promised to liberalize the nation's abortion laws, a promise that has already drawn criticism from Spanish clergy. Currently abortions are only available to women for whom pregnancy is deemed a physical or psychological danger; Zapatero wants them to be legally available to any woman in her first trimester.

Cardinal Antonio María Rouco, the leader of the Spanish church, has been careful to guard his opinions regarding the new government. But at a recent gathering of clerics and conservative politicians, Mr. Rouco accused those intent on implementing changes in abortion practices of being blind to the "grave consequences" of the reform.

With European Parliament elections slated for June, gender equality promises to be an important issue across the Continent. Although directors of the Brussels-based European Women's Lobby declined to be interviewed for this article, the organization's website indicates that it recently launched a campaign to increase female representation in the EU government.

Women currently hold 31 percent of the seats in the European Parliament, but many fear that number will decline with the addition of the new member states May 1, since they have a low rate of female representation.

In Spain, most expect the pattern of equal representation to continue, however, and the Socialist Party has promised that at least 40 percent of its candidates for the European elections will be women. "The fact that the party in government is committed to parity," says Ms. Ortiz, "is going to pressure all the other parties to do the same."

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