Mother’s Day race controversy as ‘sexist’ gifts awarded

A race for women in Madrid on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 7, which was supposed to celebrate women, was blasted as gifts of kitchen appliances and diet products were awarded. 

HuffPost reported on Twitter that the organisers of the Madrid Women’s Race hadn’t considered the implications:

“Organizers of the Carrera de la Mujer in Madrid, Spain, said it hadn’t considered the prize would have sexist implications.”

Organizers of the Carrera de la Mujer in Madrid, Spain, said it hadn’t considered the prize would have sexist implications. https://t.co/gdCfkRd0bz

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 9, 2023

In a statement, the race organisers said: “We apologize, but we consider this a product with no sexist character and ideal for any athlete who wants to improve their nutritional habits. We regret if any woman felt offended.”

Ángela Rodríguez Pam, Spanish secretary of state for equality wrote on Twitter

“In the Women’s Race, the first woman was given a Thermomix (kitchen robot) and the rest were given 0% (fat) products.
If you succeed, become a housewife and if not, at least lose weight. The problem is not the ‘pink’ but that companies use it to cover up what is important, such as the fight against sexism. We need more races”

En la Carrera de la mujer a la 1ª le dieron una thermomix y al resto productos 0%
Si triunfas ama de casa y si no al menos adelgaza.
El problema no es lo ‘rosa’ sino que las empresas lo usen para tapar lo importante como la lucha contra el machismo.
Hacen falta más carreras aún.

— Ángela Rodríguez Pam 🏳️‍🌈 ♀️ (@Pam_Angela_) May 8, 2023

The event, a seven-kilometer road race with 32,000 participants, was won by Ivana Zagorac from Serbia in 24 minutes and  7 seconds on Sunday. The event raises awareness of domestic violence and cancer survivors, and is held in various cities across the country. 

Organisers for Carrera de la Mujer posted their statement on Twitter, highlighting that the prizes or gifts were given by the event sponsors and not themselves, and that they have been committed to the fight against sexism for the 19 years that the event has run.

They were also keen to point out the amount of fundraising and awareness-raising of women’s issues that they have facilitated over this time, including over a million Euros donated to cancer research.

📢 Comunicado oficial de la Carrera de la Mujer pic.twitter.com/JcjJuFLQ9O

— Carrera de la Mujer (@CarreraMujer) May 8, 2023

Despite the obvious faux-pas, we hope that the Carrera de la Mujer will continue to be a force for good and the advancement of  sexual equality for years to come.