Autonomous, Passionate, and Admirable

Self-employed women play a crucial role in our society. Despite the challenges and barriers they face, these women demonstrate an extraordinary ability to innovate and lead their projects. An inspiring example is Irache Echeverría, a young livestock farmer from Navarra, whose career reflects the talent and determination that characterises many self-employed women.

Young, female, and a livestock farmer. It is not the most common profile in Spain, where the agricultural sector faces a generational challenge, and the female collective is a minority. However, Irache Echeverría, from Legaria in Navarra, has had a vocation for farming since childhood. “My parents set up a dairy sheep farm practically when I was born, and that's where the vocation comes from,” explains this young woman, an Agronomist Engineer, Doctor in Biotechnology, and national winner of the fourth edition of the CaixaBank Professional Autonomous Woman Award, first in its regional edition and now in the national one.

Irache Echeverría, national winner of the fourth edition of the CaixaBank Professional Autonomous Woman Award.

These awards, which this year have reached their fourth edition, seek to give visibility to the talent and effort of self-employed women. “Women have a lot of potential to undertake, but sometimes we need a push to make us believe in ourselves,” points out Irache, who by virtue of the award will receive 6,000 euros to be allocated to business development and personal training and will have access to an online master's degree in AI and Innovation at the digital business school Founderz.

Now, Irache's goal is to continue with the farm but implementing changes. In her opinion, it is very important to modernize the livestock sector and she advocates for a sustainable farming model. In fact, since she took over the company, the winner of the CaixaBank Professional Autonomous Woman Award has implemented various measures focusing on greater environmental sustainability and an improvement in economic resources.

Female talent in the self-employed workers' collective

Irache is one of the examples of the abundant female talent that populates the self-employed workers' collective, comprising 1.2 million women in 2023, according to a report by the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA). Elena Moreno Senosiain, founder of the industrial automation machinery manufacturing firm Saygom; Milagros Cabral, creator of the brand specializing in event dresses Mariquita Trasquilá; and June Arrieta Picabea, founder of the sustainable fashion accessories store Zocco Handmade, were national winners in previous editions.

In this edition, the four female finalists have been Fatiha Lahasen from Ceuta, for her project Asesoría Sharika; María Teresa Corchero from Cáceres, with Bombones Valcorchero; Sonia Almela, thanks to Me and Me Cosmetics; and Sara Burgos from Burgos, for her animal-assisted therapy project Mil Encinas.

Winner, finalists and jury.

On the other hand, Chelo García from Madrid, with her project Opticlass (committed to visual health and workplace well-being), and Vanessa García Gatzsch from Valencia, with Barana Acció Creativa (focused on purpose-driven marketing strategies), have won the special Founderz award. Thanks to this recognition, both will be able to take an online master's degree in AI and Innovation at Founderz.

With these awards, framed within CaixaBank's Wengage diversity program, the entity shows its commitment to equal opportunities, as well as recognizing and making visible the career paths of self-employed women and supporting the work and contribution to society of this collective, a key piece in the Spanish economy.