L-R: Lydie Polfer, President of the Board of Directors of CGDIS; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men; Paul Schroeder, Director General of CGDIS;
Credit: MEGA
Luxembourg's Ministry of Equality between Women and Men has announced that Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality, and the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours - CGDIS) recently signed an agreement on gender equality at work.
Equality between women and men is experienced in all areas of life, at home and at work. The Ministry of Equality emphasised the importance it attaches to having partners, such as the CGDIS, who work on a daily basis in companies and public organisations to ensure the well-being and equal treatment of employees. In a pilot project, the ministry and the CGDIS will act together to promote equality at work.
The partnership agreement is based on the Positive Actions programme of the Ministry of Equality. It was signed on 20 May 2021 by Minister Taina Bofferding, Lydie Polfer, President of the CGDIS Board of Directors, and Paul Schroeder, Director General of CGDIS.
“Solidarity, benevolence and teamwork are all elements that CGDIS employees experience on a daily basis to provide assistance during fires and accidents. Through the Positive Actions programme, we want to support diversity in CGDIS teams and encourage the commitments made”, noted Minister Taina Bofferding during the signing.
Paul Schroeder explained that more and more women are involved in CGDIS. Contrary to the cliché sometimes conveyed, rescue services are not a domain reserved for men. Whether hired as volunteers or professionals, women firefighters at CGDIS are integrated into operational teams and fulfil the same missions as their male peers.
Lydie Polfer clarified: “Concretely, the CGDIS will carry out an internal inventory of gender equality. The objective is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement so that the CGDIS can increase its mechanism for equality in its teams, both in recruitment and in decision-making”.
In a first step, the Equality Ministry will support and finance an inventory. It will then support the CGDIS in its efforts to establish a catalogue of proposals and ideas of good practice applicable to the entire public sector.
Minister Taina Bofferding concluded: "I am delighted with this collaboration which will allow us to develop actions on the ground to make equality a reality".
