Marta Serrano, secretary general for land transport, said they presented a “social and cultural challenge” as “all the workers are giant, very muscular men” in the show.

During a conference on the role of women in the transport sector, she said: “We are teaching girls that the road sector is not for them and is a man’s thing. In Peppa Pig or in the Paw Patrol, those who work fixing the roads are strong men. It is something that impacts them from a young age and, if they do not have that awareness, it is very difficult for them to choose us in secondary school.”

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party politician said her own daughter does not think it is plausible for women to enter transport sectors “even though she sees me working on the other side”.

“We are still far from achieving parity,” Ms Serrano said, adding that only 10% of the Spanish road maintenance sector was made up of women.

The civil engineer was also critical of her own ministerial department where women make up 40% of the workforce, compared to an average of 54% across the whole of government.

To tackle the low numbers of women entering the road maintenance sector, Ms Serrano said there needed to be “more equitable representation across all levels and roles, both in the public and private spheres”.

She will present a new guide to “good practices in gender perspective in land transport infrastructure” to tackle the shortfall.

A government spokesman said: “The ministry of transport and sustainable mobility intends for this guide to be a consultation tool for the technical staff of the different public administrations and engineering companies in charge of the design, construction and maintenance of land transport infrastructure.”