Transport Minister Gewessler wanted to oblige companies to carry out ‘gender tests’. After a ‘Krone’ report, she rowed back: the ‘commitment’ became a declaration of intent.
About a week ago it was the ultimate excitement: 21 companies – from Wiener Linien and Vienna Airport to the post office, the Chamber of Commerce and the ÖBB – received explosive mail from the minister responsible for transport agendas, the green Leonore Gewessler.
“Women in Transportation” was the name of the statement, which may have sparked massive criticism from some of the companies mentioned in the statement. That is not surprising, because state-owned companies should, as has been widely reported, commit to ‘gender testing’. Gender-related data from employees that goes beyond the binary gender concept of male and female should be collected by their companies.
Violation of the law?
“Legally untenable,” experts warned, because the application did not ask about gender or religious beliefs. Former Chamber of Labor chairman Rudolf Kaske said this would be a violation of the law without the employee’s explicit consent.
Now apparently a new version of the letter has been received – unlike the old version, the new version is clearly marked as a “draft” using watermarks. As you read on, the differences become clear. The title “Concrete and binding measures” has been deleted, which means that an obligation to implement them appears to have been annulled. However, the voluntary nature of the employees was explicitly emphasized; this was missing from the first draft. It seems that some companies have – successfully – defended themselves against the gender grotesque.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
