At the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on 15 March 2017, the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Lydia Mutsch, emphasised that reenforcement and defence of the rights of women remain relevant.
"Faced with the systematic questioning of women's rights by many political leaders around the world, we must unite our forces to defend in a decided manner the political and social achievements for which generations before us have fought so hard,” she said.
Lydia Mutsch participated in numerous bilateral interviews and meetings between ministers to highlight areas of particular concern to her, such as the economic empowerment of women and the overall improvement of the employment rate and working conditions of women.
In this context, the minister stressed that in many countries significant wage differentials persist, even in Luxembourg where it stands at 8.6%. It is still considerably higher in neighbouring countries, such as Germany, at 21.6%, France at 15.2%, and Belgium at 9.8%.
At a round table discussion on the wage gap, Lydia Mutsch presented the Law of 15 December 2016, which introduced penalties for non-compliance with the equal pay provisions of the Labour Code. It also presented a programme of positive actions based on voluntary collaboration with private companies as well as with public sector administrations and institutions.
In addition to these concrete measures to counter inequalities in the labor market, the Minister also recalled that a societal effort is essential if we are to change attitudes.
On the sidelines of the plenary meeting, Lydia Mutsch addressed a bilateral meeting with Isabelle Simonis, Belgian Minister for Education, Social Promotion, Youth, Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities, discussing with her the right to abortion.
The Minister addressed the UN Security Council public debate on "Trafficking in human beings in situations of conflict: forced labor, slavery and other similar practices", during which she recalled and affirmed Luxembourg’s commitments at the national and international level to strengthen the fight against trafficking in human beings.
On 15 March 2017, Minister Lydia Mutsch was received by Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN-Women. The latter congratulated the Luxembourg Minister on the recent legislative reforms put in place and in particular the introduction of quotas in politics and the inclusion of equal pay in the Labor Code. Lakshmi Puri thanked the Luxembourg Government for its financial support and in particular the 18% increase in the voluntary contribution to the UN-Women core budget.
Image: Minister Lydia Mutsch at the 61st United Nations, March 2017. © UN
