Women's share in the National Council: Progress or standstill in Austria?

Women's share in the National Council: Progress or standstill in Austria?

In Austria of the present, there is a worrying picture of gender distribution in the political offices. Despite the super election year 2024, which culminated with the National Council election on September 29, the number of women in the National Council remains behind the expectations. According to vienna.at the number of deputies dropped to 66, which corresponds to a rate of 36.61 percent. This is the first decline since 2008. There are also similar tendencies in the state parliament: in the Vorarlberg state parliament, the proportion of women is 44.4 percent, while Carinthia is only 16 percent the lowest quota. Only 25 percent of MPs are female in Burgenland.

A far -reaching problem is the underrepresentation of women in management positions. Ten women and eleven men are currently represented in the Austrian government. This was achieved by the new coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, which replaced the past turquoise-green government on Tuesday 2020. The Situation is not better at the EU level; In the European Parliament there are only eight women of 20 Austrian MPs. This shows that the struggle for equality is far from gained and many political offices are still denied.

difficulties in Baden-Württemberg

A similar picture is shown in Baden-Württemberg, where structural obstacles make it difficult to represent women in the state parliament. According to lpb-bw.de , the electoral procedures in the country are unique because voters can only vote. This often favors male candidates, while women remain underrepresented in the presentation and selection. A reform of the state election law that has been requested for years is intended to improve the representation of women in politics. The state parliament decided on April 6, 2022 with a two -thirds majority a voting right reform, which is due to come into force in the next election in 2026. Among other things, this reform promises a two -vote voting right and a closed state list to give women in parliament a stronger voice.