Chapter 7: Gender and Higher Education in Spain: A Changing and Hopeful Landscape

The Royal Decree dated March 8, 1910, which was promoted by Emilia Pardo Bazán, gave women in Spain unrestricted access to university education. Before that, female presence in Spanish universities was an exception. In 1882, women were excluded by a Royal Order which put an end to a legal loophole which had allowed some women to undertake university studies. During the second half of the nineteenth century, there emerged the belief that although the main mission of women was to care for children and the family, they could undertake other tasks with the appropriate education and instruction and support the earnings of their husbands. In Spain, much discussion centered on the ability of women to acquire the knowledge needed to practice a profession, and how they should acquire it. In the meantime, in some other countries, women were obtaining high school certificates and being accepted to study at universities.