The APB supports and champions the role of women in the Port Police Force
This port authority was a pioneer in Spain in terms of incorporating women into the police
Palma
08/03/2024
The APB (Balearic Port Authority) today held a round table discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day. Under the slogan Somos Mujeres, somos Autoridad, somos Portuarias [We’re Women, we’re Authority, we’re the Port Police], the APB’s aim was to highlight the role of women in the force, which had historically been a male domain.
At the event, the APB Archive team presented some previously unpublished documents that show very clearly that the Authority was a pioneer in Spain in terms of the incorporation of women into the Port Police.
Inmaculada Morán, who in 1991 became the very first female Port Police officer in the Balearic Islands, took part in the round table. Furthermore, many of the women who are currently working for the APB, and either are, or have been, members of the Port Police at one of the five ports of general interest managed by the organisation, including Olga Peñalver, Elke Fernández, Raquel Ripoll, Maribel Torres and Fosi Jiménez, talked about their own experiences. They recalled the process of preparing to sit the Port Police entrance exams, and what working relationships with the other members of the port community were like.
One of the very first female members of the Port Police was Olga Peñalver, who joined in 1996 and is now head of the Conservation Department. Peñalver said that “among the male officers, the fact that there were now women on the force came as quite a shock. In fact, they didn’t have changing rooms or uniforms for women”. She added that “when a Port Police Officer became pregnant, they didn’t quite know what to do or how to manage the situation”.
Many of the women who started out as Port Police officers subsequently pursued a professional career within the APB, and today hold managerial posts within the company, like Olga Peñalver.
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