Luxembourg Minister of Equal Opportunities Lydia Mutsch was in Vienna today to participate in aworking meeting with her Austrian counterpart Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek.

The two Ministers used the opportunity to exchange views on priorities in national and European policy concerning women, discussing women's health and the common demand for a quota of women on the supervisory boards of public companies.

Minister Heinisch-Hosek said that the quota, which was launched in Austria in 2011, is "working", and stated that she was "delighted that the work on an EU-wide policy was continuing under the Luxembourg Presidency".

Findings in January 2015 showed that the percentage of women on the supervisory boards of 200 of the largest companies in Austria stood at 16.2%, demonstrating an increase of 2.3% as compared to figures for the previous year. Luxembourg's proportion was reported as higher at 20%, which never-the-less stands below the European average of 20.2%.

Both ministers agreed that a higher female employment rate should be accompanied by a rethinking concerning distribution of the respective roles and responsibilities between men and women in all sectors.

Talks also centered around the recently-introduced Austrian Action Plan for Women's Health, comprised of 40 measures developed in three working groups aimed at discussing factors in women's health.

"The topic of Women's Health offers a variety of issues and challenges," explained Minister Mutsch. "It is therefore key to be able to respond individually to requirements and to guarantee the self-determination of women in all health sectors."

The discussion took place on the sidelines of the annual meeting of germanophone Health Ministers in Vienna, occurring  on 3 and 4 September 2015.

 

Photo by MEGA (L-R: Austrian Minister for Equal Opportunities, Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek; Luxembourgish Minister for Equal Opportunities, Lydia Mutsch)