Universal Periodic Review

Strengthen policies to promote gender equality, increase women’s participation in the political sphere, and eliminate the wage gap

Proponent:

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

There is still a significant pay gap between women and men in Austria. According to recent studies, women in Austria earn on average 18.8 per cent less than men, and this difference exists regardless of educational and professional qualifications (Statistik Austria, 2021: https://www.statistik.at/statistiken/bevoelkerung-und-soziales/gender-statistiken/einkommen). According to the Pay Transparency Directive, companies in the EU should in future exchange information on how much they pay women and men for work of equal value and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5 per cent. EU member states now have up to 3 years to transpose the directive into national law. This will include more comprehensive disclosure of starting salaries and pay levels, increased reporting obligations for companies and improved access to legal measures for employees (more information on this: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/europa-aktuell/2023/04/gender-pay-gap-rat-der-eu-nimmt-neue-vorschriften-zur-lohntransparenz-an.html). In Austria, corresponding legislation has not yet been passed. The labour force participation rate for women is also still lower than for men (in 2022 70% compared to 78%, Statistics Austria: https://www.statistik.at/statistiken/arbeitsmarkt/erwerbstaetigkeit/erwerbstaetige-merkmale). According to the Pay Transparency Directive, companies in the EU should in future exchange information on how much they pay women and men for work of equal value and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5 per cent. EU member states now have until June 2026 to transpose the directive into national law. This will include more comprehensive disclosure of starting salaries and pay levels, increased reporting obligations for companies and improved access to legal measures for employees. The exact implementation of the directive is not yet known (further information on this: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/europa-aktuell/2023/04/gender-pay-gap-rat-der-eu-nimmt-neue-vorschriften-zur-lohntransparenz-an.html). Since the non-partisan expert government of 2019 with Austria’s first female Federal Chancellor, a largely balanced gender ratio of federal ministers and state secretaries has been established, although in recent years this has gradually tilted back towards a male majority. The proportion of women in parliament has also risen steadily in recent decades, most recently reaching around 40%. As there are no legal requirements for the creation of electoral lists or the allocation of mandates in this respect, there is a significant difference between the political parties. Gender parity of 50% is only reached or exceeded in the Green, Neos and SPÖ parties. The ÖVP and FPÖ are below parity, with the latter party only achieving a female quota of 17%. At provincial level, the gender ratio in both governments and provincial parliaments lags behind the federal level. There is an extreme imbalance at municipal level, where there are only around 10% female mayors. This ratio is roughly the same across all parties.   Measures taken by the federal government in 2022 include the establishment of an „Austrian Fund for the Empowerment and Advancement of Women and Girls“, which operates the „LEA – Let’s Empower Austria“ project (website https://letsempoweraustria.at/), as well as the „Girls in Politics“ project, which enables girls and young women to accompany mayors at work in individual municipalities (information on the BKA website: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/agenda/frauen-und-gleichstellung/gleichstellung-am-arbeitsmarkt/girls-in-politics.html. An evaluation of the projects is still pending. A report by the Women’s Section of the Federal Chancellery from 2022 provides a statistical basis for taking stock of the participation of women in political decision-making positions (as a PDF Further information is available at the following link: https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/dam/jcr:c1f8eb6d-b56e-480a-9463-38273dc136d6/frauen_in_polit_entscheidungspositionen_2022.pdf).