BELGIUM
A new report has found that Belgium has the lowest percentage of women in top Public Service jobs in the European Union.
Figures from the European Institute for Gender Equality show the EU average of women in the very highest category of jobs is 35 per cent; in Belgium the figure is 10 per cent.
For the category just below that, the EU average is 43 per cent — very close to parity with men.
In Belgium, however, the figure is a distant 23 per cent.
The figures relate to senior functions in Government Ministries.
In Belgium, only one such area is filled by a woman: Isabella Mazzara (pictured), who heads the Ministry of Home Affairs.
She told the newspaper Le Soir that her male colleagues were just as worried as she was by the imbalance.
“In my own experience, I admit I’ve never experienced any obstacles due to being a woman,” Ms Mazzara said.
“I passed the exams and so on, but the fact is there are fewer women candidates.”
Ms Mazzara was Chief of Staff to then Minister for Home Affairs, Annemie Turtelboom and for Maggie De Block when she was Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration.
She said part of the reason for the imbalance was the tendency for women more than men to be concerned about work–life balance.
Ms Mazzara said in her Department she tried to offer a maximum of flexibility, such as avoiding early and late meetings, and allowing working from home where practical.
“I have a lot of respect for women who prioritise family life,” she said.
“The most important thing is that we feel free to choose, whether that means going home early for the children or going for one of the top jobs.”
In 2012 the Government passed a rule calling for one-third of all posts in the Public Service to be occupied by a woman.
Taking all Government services into account, the actual figure is still short of the target, at 29 per cent.
Brussels, 5 August 2018
