Equal opportunities and collective bargaining in Austria

Abstract

This paper deals with policies for the advancement of women in the private sector in Austria. The objective of the following discussion is to investigate why policies to further women in the private sector continue to lag so far behind. By way of introduction, we will outline the framework conditions of equal opportunity policies. In doing so, we will go into key aspects of women 's employment. From there, we will proceed to show how Social Partnership policies fail to address the general political interests of women and thus also create the preconditions for these policies having only a marginal impact on the discrimination against women which is still present in so many different forms (lower pay, worse chances for promotion, lower job security). A review of the legal framework conditions for policies of equal opportunity and advancement of women indeed makes it clear that the political emphasis up to now has been more on equal opportunity and less on advancement of women, but there has been no shortage of opportunities for the Social Partners and employers to implement their own measures to further women if the will to do so had been there. In light of these background factors, we will finally present selected best-practice examples of agreements to further women in the public as well as in the private sector.