[important]Social Economy Reconciliation Guide[/important]

This guide is the result of research funded by the Regional Employment Service of the Community of Madrid as part of a line of activities aimed at promoting the Social Economy. From cooperatives Pandora Mirabilia y Andaira we consider it interesting to investigate how social economy enterprises are managing work-life balance in their daily activities and how, in short, they are putting into practice social economy principles such as the promotion of equal opportunities between women and men.

Among the guiding principles of all social economy organisations set out in Law 5/2011, the first is the “Primacy of people and the social purpose over capital, which takes the form of autonomous, transparent, democratic and participatory management”. This principle is the starting point of the research carried out, to which is added another principle that makes explicit the concern for the ethical and solidarity-based management of the teams and the sustainability of the social model: “Promotion of internal solidarity and solidarity with society that favours the commitment to local development, equal opportunities between men and women, social cohesion, the integration of people at risk of social exclusion, the generation of stable and quality employment, the reconciliation of personal, family and working life and sustainability”.”

The characteristics of social economy enterprises differ from enterprises of a capitalist nature in several aspects that characterise their business development. Social economy enterprises operate according to co-operative values and principles and promote ethical and solidarity-based economic relations, with the aim of promoting the social benefit of the whole community. In many cases, co-operatives are situated within the values of the social economy, but their business formula is not always a guarantee of these values.