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Irene María Montero Gil (; born 13 February 1988) is a Spanish politician and psychologist, member of the Podemos party. She most recently served as the Minister of Equality of Spain from 13 January 2020 to 20 November 2023. She is the partner of Pablo Iglesias, one of the founders and former leader of her party.
From January 2016 to August 2023, Montero has also been an MP for Madrid in the Congress of Deputies, and from February 2017 to January 2020 she was the Spokesperson for the Parliamentary Group Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común in Congress. In 2024,Montero was elected as member of the European Parliament.
In November 2014, after being a candidate for the Citizen Council of Podemos, Montero was appointed head of Social Movements and began to lead the cabinet of the leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, at which time she postponed her doctoral thesis project on new methods of educational inclusion to dedicate herself entirely to Podemos.
During the election campaign of 20 December 2015 Iglesias announced that Montero would be the vice president and minister of the Presidency of a hypothetical government of Podemos.
In the elections of the Congress of Vistalegre II to the direction of Podemos was elected as a member of the State Citizen Council. She was the most voted woman, placing herself in fourth place, behind Pablo Iglesias, Pablo Echenique and Íñigo Errejón. She is currently a member of the Coordination Board of Podemos, secretary of Action in Congress.
As a deputy, in June 2017, Montero became the first woman in the history of Spain to intervene in parliament on a motion of no confidence.
In May 2018, Iglesias and Montero put their positions in Podemos up for a vote of no confidence, following backlash for purchasing a €615,000 country house in Galapagar. A total of 68.42% of party members voted to keep them in their roles.
In May 2022, Montero announced the implementation of the 028 Rainbow Service, an emergency service for victims of LGBT erasure or discrimination.
In August 2022, Spain passed legislation proposed by Montero since the La Manada rape case, in which consent for sexual intercourse had to be proven by affirmation. The change in the law allowed for convicted sex offenders to have their sentences reduced on appeal by the Retroactividad. Montero declared that the right-wing opposition used the retroactivity as a loophole to attack her, and she blamed the reductions on "machismo" of judges; in response to this, she was dubbed a "liberator of rapists" by Vox congress member Carla Toscano, who criticised the minister's portrayal of judges.
By 1 December, 43 convicted sex offenders had their sentences reduced by up to seven years as a result of the new law. On 14 December, the Supreme Court of Spain upheld the reductions, as accused in Spain who are not at the end of the appeals process have the right to be re-sentenced under a later, more beneficial law. The law was amended in April 2023 by the PSOE and opposition PP, which Montero considered "a sad day" and the most difficult of her tenure as a minister. In September 2023, the court of Navarra reduced the sentence of one of the members of "la Manada" from 15 years to 14 years by applying the "solo sí es sí" law.
In October 2023, during the Gaza war, Montero said that Israel's alleged violation of international criminal law and war crimes must face consequences. In May 2024, she accused the European Union of "complicity" in the Gaza genocide.
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