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Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) presented the second annual 'Gloria Fuertes – URJC' Awards at its Madrid-Argüelles campus (21 Quintana Street). The awards recognize the best Bachelor's theses, Master's theses, and doctoral dissertations related to studies with a gender perspective, sexual and gender diversity, and cultural and ethnic diversity. The ceremony took place on December 18th in an auditorium filled with students, faculty, researchers, and administrative and support staff.
Driven by the Equality Unit and the Diversity Unit, the awards recognize works defended throughout 2024 that stand out for their academic rigor and for their contribution to knowledge about equality between women and men, sexual and gender diversity and ethnic-cultural and origin diversity.
Doctoral theses: gender pay gap and desire from an intersectional perspective
In the 'Doctoral Thesis – Equality' category, the first prize went to Irene Gutiérrez López, for the thesis 'Gender pay gap in the European Union: economic impact of legal measures aimed at its reduction', directed by professors Mercedes Ruiz Garijo and Nuria Alonso Gallo.
In 'Doctoral Thesis – Diversity', the first prize went to Sandra Muñoz Sánchez, author of 'Sexual desire, power and subjectivity from an intersectional perspective', directed by Dau García Dauder and Cristina Polo Usaola.
During the event, both researchers presented the key aspects of their work, which focused on the gender pay gap in the European Union and on the critical analysis of desire and power from an intersectional perspective, respectively.
The best Master's and Bachelor's theses on equality and diversity
In the 'TFM – Equality' category, the first prize was awarded to Adriana María Cavada Bustamante for her work 'Clinical Factors and Choice of Renal Replacement Therapy in Women and Men with Chronic Kidney Disease. A Descriptive Study', supervised by María Soledad García Gómez de las Heras. The jury highlighted the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into clinical research and healthcare decision-making.
In the 'TFG – Equality' category, the first prize went to Lucía Martín Postigo for 'Towards Housing Equality: Incorporating a Gender Perspective into Housing Design Regulations in Spain. A Comparative Study of Legislation in the Basque Country and the Valencian Community', supervised by Fermina Garrido López and Serafina Amoroso. The work analyzes how housing regulations can contribute to creating more equitable domestic spaces.
In 'TFG – Diversity', the first prize was awarded to Concepción Tabares Fernández, for 'Graphics, existence and resistance: the role of design in social demands. The case of the LGTBI+ movement in Spain', directed by Mónica Garrié-Faget Guevara, a study on the role of graphic design in the visibility and defense of the rights of the LGTBI+ community.
“It’s not just academic excellence, it’s a commitment to social reality.”
The director of the Diversity Unit, Miguel Ángel López Sáez, emphasized during the ceremony that these awards “recognize not only academic excellence, but also commitment to social reality”:
“Each of these studies helps us better understand how inequality and discrimination operate in everyday life, and gives us tools to change them. As a university, we have a responsibility to ensure that research serves to improve people's lives, especially those who face the greatest barriers,” López Sáez noted.
For her part, Ana Gómez-Escalonilla, speaking on behalf of the director of the Equality Unit, Pilar Charro Baena, highlighted the importance of integrating the gender and diversity perspective into all aspects of academic life:
“Equality and diversity cannot be an add-on, something that is added at the end of the work. They have to be at the heart of how we research, how we teach, and how we look at the world. These awards show that our students and our research staff are already making that shift in perspective.”
Gómez-Escalonilla added that the 'Gloria Fuertes' Awards are also a way to "publicly recognize hours of study, reading and personal commitment" and to send a clear message: "feminist and diversity research is not a niche, it is essential knowledge for any democratic society."
The voice of Gloria Fuertes, master of ceremonies.
The ceremony also had a prominent cultural component: an actress brought Gloria Fuertes to life, who appeared throughout the event to introduce, in a poetic and humorous way, the different sections of the gala —the opening lecture, the presentations of the award-winning theses and the awarding of diplomas—, thus linking the legacy of the Madrid-born writer with the recognized works.
The event was closed by the Vice-Rector for Social Responsibility, Culture and Sport, Jesús Arsuaga Ferreras, who recalled that the URJC “wants to be a university that not only trains professionals, but also critical, egalitarian and diverse citizens”, and encouraged continued submission of applications in future editions of the awards.
With this second edition, the Rey Juan Carlos University consolidates the 'Gloria Fuertes' Awards as a benchmark for showcasing research that focuses on gender equality, sexual and gender diversity, and cultural and origin diversity, and that understands knowledge as a tool against inequality and violence in all its forms.