Minister for Equal Opportunities, Lydia Mutsch, took an opportunity to call on local representatives to mentor women putting themselves forward in communal politics during a dialogue opened up for a ‘cinema-debate’ held in honour of International Women’s Day.
As part of the events being organised in recognitions of International Women’s Day, on 8 March, as well as the campaign votezegalite.lu, the Ministry of Equal Opportunities and the College of Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Luxembourg hosted a screening of "The Iron Lady", a biopic about the life and career of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatche, at the Cinémathèque on Wednesday. The film was followed by a debate with Uta Kletzing of the Europäische Akademie für Frauen in Wirtschaft und Politik Berlin, hosted by Christiane Kremer.
Minister Mutsch highlighted the ongoing importance of International Women's Day, and that this year the ministry had chosen to focus on the participation of women in communal politics. Today, she said, women only account for 243 of the 1,125 representatives on communal councils. Women are also under-represented in the positions of mayors — thirteen out of 105 — and alderman — 42 of 231 — in Luxembourg’s communes.
Minister Mutsch invited local elected representatives to participate in a mentoring programme to supervise potential candidates for the next municipal elections.
According to the minister, better representation of women in decision-making bodies in the communes helps to ensure that the specific interests of women and a more egalitarian society are taken into account.
Lydia Mutsch concluded that the evening movie is an important part of votezegalite.lu to discuss the challenges facing women who wish to participate more in the municipal decision-making process, such as the breakdown of gender stereotypes, the ability to act as As a woman in a world that remains largely dominated by men or the reconciliation of family, occupation and politics.
