It was not until 1984, later than elsewhere in Europe, that women in the Principality of Liechtenstein were granted the right to vote. Since 1992, gender equality has been anchored in the Liechtenstein Constitution. The Equality Article 31(2) simply states: “There shall be equality of rights between the sexes.” This explicit enshrinement in the Constitution paved the way for amendments to various laws, particularly in the areas of citizenship, old-age and survivors’ insurance and taxes.
In 1995, Parliament approved the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Liechtenstein ratified the convention in 1996. It continues to provide a sound basis for positive action against prejudice and the stereotypical distribution of roles between men and women to this day.
The legal dimension
As a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1995, Liechtenstein has adopted twelve directives on gender equality. Since then, vigorous measures have been introduced to implement the principle of equality. The Gender Equality Act (LGBl. 1999 No. 96) of March 1999 was a milestone on the road to gender equality in the workplace. The 2001 Protection against Violence Act has improved protection against violence in families. In 2002, the government resolved to progressively introduce gender
mainstreaming. In 2006, Liechtenstein adapted the legislation to EU standards for gender equality in the workplace.
Two measures should be emphasised in particular. First, the inheritance law underwent a fundamental revision in 2012 to improve the legal status of the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner. Second, the amendments to the sexual criminal law in 2011 expanded the material legal protection of victims and provided a legal basis for combating violence against women and children as well as domestic violence. The express inclusion of female genital mutilation as a crime also serves to strengthen the protection of victims of violence. In October 2021, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention, entered into force in Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein has further improved victim and witness protection in civil proceedings.
Women in business
Women remain significantly under-represented in business. Three-quarters of female Liechtenstein citizens decide against careers as soon as they have children. Although 50 per cent of secondary school students are female and 42 per cent of female graduates attend a university, traditional gender roles remain strong in Liechtenstein society. Women still earn less than men, and this pay inequality further stereotypes role models, as a gender analysis from 2018 shows.
At the beginning of the 1990s, a network was established between the women’s and gender equality / equal opportunity offices in the three and/or four-country region (Baden-Württemberg, German-speaking Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein). Since 1999, the women’s and gender equality / equal opportunity offices have been using the European Union’s Interreg programme to implement cross-border gender equality projects and to incorporate them in a sustainable way.
One example of cross-national cooperation is the Interreg project “Länder-Gender” (2004–2006) for promoting gender mainstreaming in management. In 2016, the gender equality / equal opportunity commissioners of Liechtenstein, the Swiss canton of Graubünden and the Austrian province of Vorarlberg conducted a project study called “Subject: Women Decide”. As the study confirmed, in Liechtenstein in 2016, there was not a single woman in 36 listed companies filling a management or board of directors function, nor in a management position in the business organisations. There were also hardly any women represented on the boards of directors and foundation boards. Exceptions were the boards of directors of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank, the Liechtenstein Broadcasting Corporation, Telecom Liechtenstein and Verkehrsbetriebe Liechtenstein. The reasons for the limited number of women in leadership positions are manifold. As such, role models, work cultures, the reconciliation of family and work, income differences and gender play a role.
Things look different when it comes to social affairs. Out of 27 institutions, 19 in Liechtenstein had a woman in a management position, which corresponds to 70 per cent of all management positions. Twelve institutions had 50 per cent or more women on the board of directors or foundation board.
Another Interreg IVa project implemented by the four-country network was titled “Subject: Role Models” (2012–2014). Its aim was to broaden the range of roles in the context of work and family. There are also awareness-raising projects in schools in Liechtenstein to motivate young people not to be guided by role stereotypes when choosing a profession. A “National Future Day – Changing Sides for Girls and Boys” has been organised since 2012, which aims to break down role stereotypes and in which an increasing number of Liechtenstein companies participate.
As part of the implementation of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 (see 2.1), Liechtenstein’s companies are striving, at varying speeds, to incorporate environmental and social factors into their corporate strategy alongside economic factors. The country has officially set itself the goal of pursuing an active gender equality policy. According to the Statistics Office, the gross monthly wage of working women in the country was still 14 per cent lower than that of men in 2020.
Since 2008, the Statistics Office has been using indicators to provide the basis for long-term policy-making in Liechtenstein. Several indicators relate to equal opportunities for women and men in politics and in business. In 2019, the government awarded the Family Friendly Business Award for the first time.
Culture and media
Women are strongly represented in culture and the arts, but there are no special support programmes for them. As the study “Subject: Women Decide” shows, nine of a total of 26 institutions in Liechtenstein had a woman in a leadership position in 2016, which corresponds to 35 per cent. Out of 17 institutions, eight have women occupying half of the positions on the board of directors or foundation board. This corresponds to 47 per cent.
In line with social developments, women are also associated with culture, education and social issues in the media, but they are still largely ignored in business and politics. A media analysis of the transnational project “Subject: Women Decide” in 2016 evaluated 122 reports on men and women in leading positions in politics, administration, education, science, culture, social affairs, nursing, health, sports, agriculture and forestry as well as companies. Fifty-four per cent mentioned men, 46 per cent mentioned women, with women dominating the areas of culture, education and social affairs, and men dominating the areas of business and politics.
Women in politics
A variety of measures have been taken in the last two decades to increase the number of women in political office. Three of the five members of the government elected in 2021 – and for the first time in Liechtenstein’s history – are female, bringing the proportion of women in the government to 60 per cent. Seven women were elected in the 2021 parliamentary elections, more than doubling the number of female parliamentarians, but still only accounting for about 28 per cent of all parliamentarians. At the municipal council level, the share of women has increased to 41.3 per cent in the 2019–2023 electoral term. In two out of eleven municipalities, a woman heads the municipality. As regards the commissions and advisory boards, women accounted for 25 per cent in 2019.
So far, the Liechtenstein Women’s Network, as an umbrella organisation, has taken on many central tasks of gender equality policy in Liechtenstein. For example, the cross-party project “Diversity in Politics” (2018–2025) is working towards the goal of achieving a greater share of women in politics through three approaches: Improvement of the electoral process and framework conditions, empowerment of women in politics and political education. Efforts are being made to obtain financial and non-material support for the project from the state, municipalities and other civil society stakeholders.
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