The Ministry of Equal Opportunities has announced a media campaign which will be unveiled in the coming weeks as a means of raising public awareness of the current imbalance between men and women in local councils in Luxembourg.
It was revealed that only 13 out of 105 mayors and 45 out of 231 aldermen in the Grand Duchy are women, whilst only 194 female advisors make up the overall 789 in place. Reasons for the fact that women are under-represented in politics were cited as lack of interest, organisational problems due to professional or family obligations and a lack of confidence in oneself.
It is for this reason that Minister of Equal Opportunities, Lydia Mutsch, has been involved in various campaigns in recent weeks, holding a public discussion for female representation in decision-making bodies between local actors and advocating the elimination of gender stereotypes in the media. She also held exchanges of views with key players in the field, including leaders of political parties and the press and radio publishing houses to establish a far-reaching partnership, for the 2017 local elections, addressing the current imbalance.
The media campaign will be divided into three main stages: raising public awareness of the inequality in local political decision-making; educating more women and encouraging them to run for office; inciting public opinion to make their personal contribution to address this imbalance.
In order to provide potential candidates and interested parties with the widest range of information to support them through the process, the Ministry will be launching a themed website detailing information evenings organised in collaboration with the union for Luxembourg towns and municipalities SYVICOL; a phone Infoline in collaboration with the National Council of Women of Luxembourg (CNFL); and funding opportunities for projects/initiatives designed to improve the balance between men and women in communal political decision-making in the Grand Duchy.
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