The reality of life for most women in Vienna and elsewhere is that they do not want to do without work or family - both have become intrinsic elements of life´s fulfilment for women and men alike.

The mere fact that women are now more highly qualified than before is a clear indication of their desire for a satisfying working life. For this very reason the European Union has included measures to promote compatibility of employment and family in their Guidelines on Employment. These measures are also contained in the national action plans of member states.

Equal participation of women on the labour market is becoming a reality. It is the task of elected representatives to establish framework conditions for women an men to truly experience this compatibility. Parents with small children must be guaranteed suitable child care sevices and flexible part-time schemes.

Women´s life (and employment) cycles are different from those of men as they need to interrupt employment more frequently and for longer periods of time. As a result they find it more difficult to reassume their work and are often faced with long-term negative effects such as old age poverty.

In many cases women, paticularly those with inadequate or outdated qualifications, have no choice but to accept precarious working conditions. Single mothers are most seriously affected by this.

However, even highly qualified women are often employed in positions beneath their value and have minimal chances of beiing romoted, yet they are responsible for the lion´s share of household and family chores. Modern society, which is based on zhe principles of partnership, must fin a way of fairly distributing among women and men the joys and pains of family life.

If the industrial world follows a demographic development characterised by lower birth rates and higher share of people retired from workforce, welfare systems will no longer be in a position to finance themselves, unless new jobs are created which can guarantee sufficient income for welfare and healthcare systems.

It is remarkable how many women are still employed below their qualification level, and do not enjoy equal chances of being promoted and often experience disadvantages when reentering the working process after their maternity break. At the same time, however, it has been recognized that general female employment is essential in securing the continued existence of social welfare systems.

The elected representatives responsibility for these issues must make every effort to advance female employment, to give women equal chances of being promoted and making a career, and to create permanent employment situations.

Biography

Renate Brauner is a social scientist, a Social Democratic politician and Vienna City Councilor for Integration, Women Questions, Consumer Protection and Personnel. She was born in 1956.

After her baccalaureate, Renate Brauner studied social and economical sciences and earned her Master’s degree in 1981. That same year, she joined the Vienna Labour Chamber where she worked in the Department for Consumer Politics. Her work there centred on environmental politics, food politics and consumer education.

From 1990 to 1996 Renate Brauner was a member of the Vienna Diet and City Council. Since 1996 she has been a member of the Vienna State Government as City Councillor for Integration, Women Questions, Consumer Protection and Personnel. She is also President of the Vienna Integration Foundation.

Renate Brauner was secretary of the Viennese section of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) from 1994 to 1996. In 1997 she was elected Head of the Viennese SPÖ Women and Deputy Head of the Federal SPÖ Women. She is furthermore Deputy Head of the Viennese SPÖ and Deputy Head of the Federal SPÖ.