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Q&A: ‘Anti-Crisis Stimulus Packages Must Take Women into Account’

Gustavo Capdevila interviews BARBARA PRAMMER, president of Austrian parliament

GENEVA, May 8 2009 (IPS) - Progress has been made on gender issues in almost all countries, and everything possible must be done to keep the economic crisis from leading to a "backlash," warns Barbara Prammer, president of the Austrian parliament.

Barbara Prammer, president of the Austrian parliament Credit: Petra Spiola/Austrian parliament

Barbara Prammer, president of the Austrian parliament Credit: Petra Spiola/Austrian parliament

Prammer, who took part in a May 7-8 Inter-Parliamentary Union conference on the global economic crisis in Geneva, says in this interview with IPS that "one of the most important tools for gender equality is gender budgeting."

"When stimulus packages are adopted, the situation of women has to be taken into consideration," says the lawmaker, the first female president of the Austrian parliament.

IPS: How does the crisis affect women? BARBARA PRAMMER: We know that most of the poor are women. Worldwide, 70 or 80 percent of the poor are women. And as the crisis is growing now, the danger is that poor people are the first who will feel everything. And so of course it is a women’s issue.

IPS: What are the most notable effects? BP: One question affecting women is their future perspectives…social benefits are very low and women are in a very difficult and precarious situation.

There is also the question of marginalisation. We do not have an intensive focus on the situation of women. The income gap worldwide speaks for itself: Men earn more money than women. Most men are on the rich side of the world, let me say.


So it’s very important that we don’t have discussions only on the male focus or on the male point of view. And this is what I try to do, for example, in my country, Austria. It’s similar everywhere.

IPS: What tools can be used to that end? BP: One of the opportunities we have is gender budgeting. Nobody knows exactly what it is…it’ll be a new experience. A gender budget for me is that all the figures that you have in the budget, you have to prove how the parts affect women and men.

For example when you invest a lot of money in private transport, you know that most of this is positive for men but not for women, because women worldwide need public transport. So when, for example, you invest in public transport, it’s a measure helping women. And so we have to prove everything. It’s a new experience worldwide. Not only in Austria. I see in my country how difficult it is.

IPS: How does it work in Austria? BP: We have a new constitutional norm in place in Austria since the beginning of this year on this issue. It stipulates the equal treatment of women and men in the budgeting process on the local, regional and national levels. Gender-responsive budgeting is already taken into account for our current 2009-2010 budget, and the call for tenders of the Austrian parliament, for example, have to abide by our gender mainstreaming regulations.

IPS: Does this focus apply to all parts of the budget? BP: Yes, for example, the gender budgeting obligation also applies to the budget for development aid. In this field it can be an instrument to promote civil society and gender equality.

IPS: What should society as a whole do with respect to the crisis and the question of gender? BP: We must do everything possible to keep the economic crisis from leading to a backlash. When stimulus packages are adopted, the situation of women has to be taken into consideration. Those who do not really believe in the importance of gender equality are mistaken. Equality of both sexes and the chance for women to participate fully in every field of society are important for society as a whole.

IPS: This also applies to developing countries. BP: Yes. For example, a vast majority of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia work in the agriculture sector. Rural development, investments in agricultural infrastructure and education in these regions would not only help to empower women, but increase productivity and strengthen their economic opportunities.

IPS: And with respect to migration? BP: Another concern is the impact of the financial crisis on migrant women, especially those working in the care economy and households of developed economies. Job losses and in consequence a decrease in remittances to their home countries would mean economic hardship for their families and might lead to women's increased vulnerability to trafficking.

IPS: What role should parliamentarians play in this process? BP: We must not leave it to our governments alone to enhance gender mainstreaming processes. We as parliamentarians play a crucial role in the process and we must ensure that anti-discrimination programmes will be increased.

IPS: Is there a risk that the crisis could cause a setback for gender programmes? BP: That has been our experience for centuries, I have to say. Whenever the situation is difficult, you hear – like I hear in Austria – ‘Oh, it’s not simple at the moment. We have the financial crisis. We have to solve the problems there. Please do not speak about the gender issue. Do it afterwards.’

You hear it everywhere. So it’s very necessary to have women in politics, to have women in society who come into power. We need women in leading positions in the economy, everywhere, I’m deeply convinced.

IPS: Summing up? BP: The crisis poses a big challenge for us all. It is our duty to do everything possible to make the economy function, to prevent mass unemployment, pauperisation and destitution.

And we must do everything to minimise the impact of the global crisis on the quality of democratic processes. More women in politics, science, economy and other fields of society is a means to create a world that is more democratic and more just.

 
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