The 101 most influential women in Catalonia

1. The magazine Forbeshas just published the list of "The 100 most influential women in Catalonia in 2025"". It wasn't necessary. But these exercises, as tempting as they are reductionist, are always entertaining to look at and confirm what we already knew, that choosing is betraying. I lack and I have too many women. The mind has one virtue: that they are not numbered from 1 to 10. totum revolutum without ranking. And it also has a flaw: the selection criteria are highly subjective. Because this isn't a list of the richest, where the criteria are quantifiable; here, the committee of experts Forbes –who don't say who they are– plus the company president –a little man– and Gloria Lomana have made their selection. And, in the resulting album, there are stickers that make you wonder what influence they have. First, we'd have to define how an effect is produced on someone indirectly, or to what degree this influence occurs.

2. The list includes undisputed names: Rosalía, Sol Daurella, Esther Giménez Salinas, Tita Cervera, Núria Cabutí, Alexia, and Aitana. But there are also incomprehensible absences. It's hard to understand why Bad Gyal or Mushkaa aren't on the list, when in the music world, Rigoberta Bandini and Aitana are. Rosà Romà, the one who rules the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation, with all the power to support certain programs or water down certain production companies over others, is also missing. Strangely, Eulàlia Carbonell, director of RAC1, with a million daily listeners, is also missing. If we talk about journalists, the selection already gives us some clues about the 2025 Catalunya-Forbes list. It includes—in strict alphabetical order—Ángeles Barceló, Joana Bonet, Pilar Eyre, Helena García Melero, Susana Griso, Cristina Jolonch, Julia Otero, Imma Sanchís, and Esther. And that's enough. From our own newspaper, there are three or four columnists who, based on their criteria, consistency, and influence, could have been mentioned. Najat El Hachmi herself, for example, could also be included among the most influential writers. But, out of a hundred names, only one novelist exists: Milena Busquets. No Eva Baltasar, no Irene Solà, no Silvia Soler, no Marta Orriols, no Estrella Solé... Strange, isn't it? Of the film directors, three: Carla Simón, Isabel Coixet, and Leticia Dolera.

3. Another significant choice. On the list of 100 women, only three politicians appear. And they all fit the same bill: the clean-cut left. Beyond the socialist influence of Alícia Romero, Núria Parlon, and Lluïsa Moret, is there no other politician who influences us? Curious, to say the least. Colau, Albiach, and Alamany don't exist. Laura Borràs, who despite her conviction continues to stir passions wherever she goes, doesn't exist either. Dolors Montserrat isn't there either. And look, she exerts as much influence as she can in the European Parliament. And that's no small feat. Who else would praise themselves, if not for trying hard to prevent Catalan from becoming an official language in Europe?

4. And the most glaring absence. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the truly influential figurehead in Catalonia, is also missing. One day she comes to the Palau de Pedralbes and, to cover up her partner's scandals and the 7,291 deaths of elderly people in nursing homes, she pisses in our faces about Catalan and the only thing we talk about is the Catalan language. She hasn't had enough to influence and set the agenda. And, after all, the one standing up to her is the least charismatic Basque leader of the century. Only Imanol Pradales has been able to respond, with humor, to Ayuso's hatred of the languages that coexist in Spain: "It's funny to me that in a country where people drink beers freely, they can't speak Basque freely."And he said it, of course, in Spanish.