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| Austria | |
 Flag of Austria | |
| Population (in Mil.) | 8.2 |
 Sex Ratio (m/f)
| 0,95 |
 Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)
| 1.07 |
 Fertility Rate
| 1.38 |
 Income Ratio (f/m)
| 0.4 |
 Literacy Ratio (f/m)
| n/a |
 Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)
| 1,19 |
 Women in Parliament (in %)
| 33,9 |
| SIGI Rank | - |
| More information on variables | |
Contents |
Overview
Legislation
In 1998 the Austrian Constitutional Act was amended to meet the demand of CEDAW (ratified in 1984) and now contains in Art 7 (2) the responsibility to consider and implement the principle of actual gender equality on all levels of policies and legal enactments.
Austria has enacted gender-sensitive legislation is in the matter of domestic violence and sexual abuse. With the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2001, rape and severe sexual abuse of minors were made punishable by life imprisonment. It has dispensed with the need for lengthy court proceedings in a situation where the police can provide a report. This speeds up and makes it easier for women to seek remedies in enforcing their rights to remain in their home without the fear of harm or actual attack.
Employment
The Equal Treatment Law (est. 1998) governs equality legislation in employment in Austria. The Law also allows employers to adopt temporary positive discrimination in favour of women to bring a de facto equality in line with CEDAW which says that measures taken by state parties to obtain de facto equality shall not be discriminatory so long as they are temporary and taken to obtain equality.
Austria has still not addressed the considerable gender pay gap. In addition, a lack of affordable childcare places makes it difficult for women to return to work and this often means they take lower paid part time work with little or no career advancement. Statistics show a disproportionately higher rate of unemployment for women to men.
Education
Positive measures to develop female access to and participation in higher education have been legislated in section 39 of the Federal Act Governing the Organisation of Universities (1993). Women make up 55 per cent of all students, and around 40 per cent of doctorates. There are a number of public scholarship programmes intended to encourage more women to pursue scientific study.
Political Empowerment
Women in Austria were given the right to vote in 1918. The relative proportion of women members of government, at 22,2 % (2004), is currently somewhat lower than the 1999 percentage (25 %). However, in the Parliament the overall proportion of women MPs rose from 28 % (1999) to 33,9 % (2004)..
Sources
- http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/44/topic/7
- 6th Country Report (Austria) to CEDAW (2004) [access on http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.html]
- http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=193064§ioncode=26
The Women, Business and the Law
Where are laws equal for men and women? 
The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.
For detailed information on Austria, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Austria page.
