The first female lawyers and legal equality for women: reclaiming Concha Peña’s name and the legacy of unknown pioneers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i26.1125Keywords:
legal equality, gender, women, legal professions, collective memoryAbstract
Until the first third of the 20th century, women did not enter legal professions in Europe. Liberal constitutions proclaimed equality and the recognition of rights, but the law and custom prohibited women from free access to the profession and voting and discriminated against them in private law. The profession of lawyer was the first legal career that accepted women. In Spain this occurred in 1920. The first female lawyers were part of a small group of women who were determinant in the recognition of gender equality that was established in the constitution of the Second Spanish Republic. Concha Peña was one of the lawyers practising before 1931, the third best-known lawyer alongside Victoria Kent and Clara Campoamor and a prominent activist for legal equality for women. Her lack of recognition in Spain contrasts with her recognition in Panama, where she is one of the names of the Spanish Republican exile. The aim of this work is to reclaim her contribution and for it to serve as a case study to retrace a stage in the legal evolution of gender equality in Spain and Europe that is necessary to preserve collective memory and show the transformative power of law.
Enviado / Submission Date: 6/12/2024
Aceptado / Acceptance Date: 8/04/2025
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Copyright (c) 2025 María Jesús García Morales
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